


Heroes of a Different Sort

by Viola_Laterra



Category: Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption, Quest for Glory
Genre: Bards, Bisexual Male Character, Caligari, Chaotic Good, Choose Your Alignment, Classmates as Family, Disbarred Bards, During Canon, F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Family Secrets, Fauns & Satyrs, First Time, Gay Male Character, Gen, Gender Identity, Genderfluid Character, Glorianna, Half-Human, Heroism, Identity Issues, Identity Reveal, Life Debt, M/M, Maps, Missing Scene, Multi, Pansexual Character, Pirates, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Quest For Glory Universe, Resolved Romantic Tension, Resolved Sexual Tension, Rogue class, Sardonia, Secret Identity, Sexual Identity, Students, Trans Male Character, Treasure Hunting, University, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Werewolves, chosen family, honor among thieves, zombie pirates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2020-10-19 18:24:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 60,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20661713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Viola_Laterra/pseuds/Viola_Laterra
Summary: Shawn O'Conner is positive that he's about to become a Thief and be set for life.  Things don't go as planned, however, and he ends up enrolled at a University for Heroes.  What begins as a necessary bargain, and a potential chance to pick up some thieving skills, becomes instead an opportunity to meet a group of remarkable people who will come to be very important to him.  And in the process of getting to know them, Shawn may discover that what he really wants is to be a Hero: to protect his friends, to put things right that have gone awry, and to make the world better than he found it.  If he can just graduate, there's a lot of work to be done by a Rogue and his fellow Heroes to make right in the world.  And a lot of fun to be had with those he's become most intimate with...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Novelization of Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption by Lori and Corey Cole at Transolar Games, plus a little post-canon speculation about the summer following Shawn's first term at Hero-U. Set in the same universe as Sierra Games' Quest for Glory series, liberally seasoned with puns and fun interactions, Hero-U has many of the same tropes as QFG, including the fact that you can influence Shawn to go in a variety of different directions. So this novelization is only one way you can play the game -- both from a strategy/Rogue vs. Thief angle, and from the standpoint of which characters Shawn gets involved with. But fair warning: there are spoilers for all of the major plot events, character storylines, as well as many puzzles from the game.
> 
> If you like the fic, please consider buying the game! If you enjoy the game, get the word out so Lori and Corey can make more of them! I sure hope they do. :)

Shawn O'Conner lay in bed, waiting for night to fall fully. Thieves, after all, work best in the dark, he thought to himself.

He could hear his mother finishing up in the kitchen. He did feel the smallest tingle of guilt, knowing how she'd feel if she knew the Chief Thief of the Con Game Guild had set him this task, and Shawn was going out tonight to prove himself worthy of entry to the Guild.

Shawn turned on his side, staring at the wall, willing himself to put her disapproval from his mind. It was all well and good to have the moral high ground, but they were simply too poor... she meant well, and worked hard, but as Shawn had gotten older, he'd become more and more aware of how they lived hand-to-mouth, and how often his mother protected him from near-misses. Times when they almost lost their home, or when she went with very little food for a few days in a row... They were simply going to need more to live on. Even though he'd been working, too, for quite a few years now... costs in the city were going up, on everything from foodstuffs to fabrics.

So. He had to do this. And... Shawn had to admit to himself that he was a little excited to try it. There was a part of him that just seethed inside his mundane daily life, yearning for adventure, for romance, for excitement and danger. To be something more.

Eventually his mother stopped puttering around the kitchen and he heard her go to bed. It was time. He swallowed hard past his rising excitement and anxiety and went to the window, let himself outside as silently as he could, and made his way to the place in the good part of city that the Chief Thief had told him was his target.

Getting through the city at night wasn't as hard as he'd expected. The darkness did indeed make it easier to feel like he could move unseen. He even thought he had managed to be pretty quiet, and was congratulating himself on getting into the house through the window without making much noise. Except after he got himself in, he heard an ominous growling sound below him. He looked out carefully and saw an angry Drat -- the large dire rats that infested many parts of the city, and only came out at night -- and thought he might have been a little louder than he'd realized. 

Shawn counted himself lucky that he'd managed to get inside before it attacked him. Drats could be vicious and sometimes their bites got infected... he'd seen one man bitten by one -- his ankle had swelled up terribly before the city's healers had been willing to see him about it. Usually you couldn't get healing if you couldn't pay; and it meant that the denizens of Caligari who couldn't afford it had to let illness and injury get pretty bad before the healers who took welfare cases could justify helping them. Well, Shawn thought to himself, that's why I'm here. To make sure Mama and I don't end up like that.

Shawn turned to take stock of the house he'd broken into. Well, it had been easy to open the window, actually, he hadn't had to technically break anything. But! He definitely wasn't supposed to be here; this was someone else's house. And he had been instructed to pilfer a coin, which the Chief Thief had called "lucky", with a three-leaf clover on it. He thought that was four-leafed clovers, but whatever; a Thief just did the job they were hired to do.

Shawn took a quick spin around the room, noting the furnishings, the contents of the desk, the paintings on the walls. He couldn't help touching the keys of the grand piano, too... and accidentally hit a few of them. He heard an old, warbling voice call from the other room, "Is that you, Mr. Mau Mau? Are you trying to play the piano again?" Shawn looked around, terrified for a moment, but then noted that there was a cat sitting on the floor, eyeing him but also looking extremely comfortable where it was sitting. He bent down to pet the cat and scratch its back, and apparently Mr. Mau Mau approved, purring. Any attempt to touch his belly, though, went... poorly.

Shawn couldn't figure out what it was that was bothering him. He was here to steal this coin. He would get to be a member of a Theives' Guild, finally! And the Con Game Guild was one of the more powerful ones in the city, too. It had been such a stroke of luck that the Chief Thief had contacted him. But as he looked around the room, a feeling of unease settled over him. He started to wonder if maybe he wasn't cut out for thieving? He'd managed to gather that the house was owned by an elderly pair of women who either had been or still were accountants.

Well, he convinced himself. They won't miss a single lucky coin, now will they? "Sorry, Mr. Mau Mau," he said to the cat, and did another scan around the room, looking for clues.

Eventually he looked closely at the mantle. There was a three-leaf clover motif on it. "Ah!" he muttered to himself. And as he found the loose panel, cleverly hidden, and slid it aside, he saw what must be the lucky coin, set in among four very complicated-looking locks on a very fancy safe.

His curiosity, and, he thought, his growing Thief's instincts, told him that whatever was in there must be enormously valuable... and who knew if the inhabitants of the house even knew about this safe behind the secret panel! Secret panels didn't seem like accountant material to him.

But, he was just here for the coin, and he didn't have any way to open a safe that advanced. So, he'd just make a mental note about this for later.

As he thought about how to pry the coin loose, he stared into the cozily lit fire in the fireplace below the mantle. And that's when the feeling of unease grew; and he realized that it wasn't exactly unease... it was more a strange familiarity. Nothing about the exterior of the house had felt this way, or even the furnishings or paintings in this room. But the fireplace, with its three-leaved clover-motif mantle... something about that touched something in his memory that he couldn't quite place.

Well, no matter. He had to stay focused, to do a Thief's job. He liberated an old letter opener from the desk and used that to pry the coin free, and then, job completed, felt very pleased with himself. As he checked outside the window to make sure the Drat was gone and quietly heaved himself over the sill, he was already congratulating himself on his success... when he met a shady stranger in a back alley behind the break-in house.


	2. Chapter 2

Sitting in the Rogue-- er, "Disbarred Bards" classroom on his third day at Hero-U, Shawn still wasn’t sure what to make of it all. The stranger had offered him this choice: go to jail for breaking into that house, or go to school. He’d actually considered jail, because he was well adult enough not to have to go to school anymore. He’d learned his maths and his ABCs just like everyone was supposed to. He liked reading, actually. But he’d tired of school right about when he’d gotten to the age where you stopped needing to go. And then he’d started working to try to bring in money, to help support him and Mama. The idea of going back was... not appealing. Though, in the end, he did decide it was better than jail.

And... even after only a day or two, Shawn could see that Hero-U held promise for him. For starters, his instructor, Master Von Urwald, was a bit of a puzzle... he was clearly strict in some ways, but also totally lenient in other ways... as if trying to figure him out was itself one of their assignments. Shawn was leaning towards liking that about him.

And the food was fantastic, if a little exotic. On top of that, Shawn had already learned that he could earn a little money washing dishes for Chef Ifetaya. He definitely liked Ifetaya. She had a way of letting her generous, positive spirit spill out everywhere, into the dining hall, into her food, into every conversation he had with her. He was almost sorry he wasn’t in her cooking classes. Though he was happy enough not to get bossed around by her assistant, Riki. The ringajou was clever enough, but quite imperious even when Shawn was only washing dishes. He tried to be open-minded about it, but it was still strange to be ordered around by a small talking mammal.

And it was definitely nice to know that Mama didn’t have to feed him. Apparently Shawn had some kind of sponsor, or at least that’s what Sophia, the receptionist, had told him. Sophia was fun – extremely flirty. It was a great game to chat with her and be outrageous and see what she’d let him get away with. But this bit about the sponsor... Shawn tried not to let it bother him, tried to just figure he needed to take what came his way. The opportunistic life of a Thief meant not questioning windfalls too much. But it did nag at him. Maybe because he worried that he’d owe this person at some point. But again, not that he had any choice about it. It was very clearly this, or prison. If he ended up owing someone for it... well, he’d just have to deal with it later. And he tried valiantly to squash the nagging feeling that he wasn’t sure he was all right with a mysterious sponsor... what kind of person would he be beholden to? But, life of a Thief, he kept reminding himself. If his sponsor wasn’t honorable, well, Shawn was pretty sure he was going to end up not being very honorable himself. Maybe this sponsor could even give him some tips, someday.

And it really was a relief to know that Mama would be okay on her own. Shawn wasn’t worried at all about her. She brought in enough with her piecework that it would cover her own expenses, if he wasn’t in the house too. In fact, he felt a little guilty to be here learning thieving skills when he knew she wouldn’t approve. Well. She didn’t have to know about it, he thought to himself. And some of the stuff he was learning already in the first few days was wicked useful. Shawn had to admit, ruefully, that he really hadn’t managed that first job very well. He could use some instruction, and then instruction essentially had fallen into his lap! Via that stranger in the alley... he hadn’t seen anyone like that at the University, so he still wasn’t sure who the man had been. Maybe he was the mysterious sponsor? But the stranger had been right: Shawn did want to find out what this was all about. And it couldn’t hurt to learn some skills that would come in handy later in his career, right?

Speaking of learning thieving skills... he ought to pay better attention to the lecture. In fact, at that moment, the Master said, “Herr O’Conner, what are your thoughts on the tools that a Rogue uses?”

Shawn managed to come up with something salient and somewhat clever to say. He heard Katie chuckle, and Joel. The Master’s lip curled a little, and Shawn thought maybe he should have gone with polite, instead of clever, but oh well. As Von Urwald turned his attention elsewhere, Shawn glanced surreptitiously around at his fellow students, taking stock of them.

He already liked Katie MacMichael. She had a great sense of humor, was sarcastic as hell, and seemed like the kind of person you really wanted on your side, because not only did you not want to fight her, but she would really have your back, if she were on your team. Shawn looked forward to figuring out how to make friends with her. He was pretty sure he had enough sarcastic humor in him to keep her entertained, at least. But he also thought she’d care about a person’s skills when the chips were down. Shawn made a mental note to pay attention to what sorts of skills seemed to matter most to Katie.

Joel Kyro, on the other hand, though he was likeable at first glance (and exceedingly well-groomed), had a sort of undercurrent that Shawn couldn’t quite identify. The obvious interpretation was that Joel was a salesman, a fence who sold stolen goods, a thief, through and through. Shawn found that intriguing, because after all, wasn’t that exactly what he wanted to learn how to do? But on the other hand, there was something about that aspect of Joel that kept leaving a bit of a bad taste in Shawn’s mouth. Like... he couldn’t be sure whether Joel was really friendly – if he really liked Shawn – or if it was all entirely pretense. Joel was still easy to talk to, though, and generally pleasant to be around. So though there was always that question in Shawn’s mind, he was game to spend time with Joel – and figure out what he could learn from him.

Whereas Cesari Sosi had absolutely zero pretense of liking Shawn. Shawn thought the guy was a self-important jerk, but also found the directness with which Sosi indicated his dislike to be a little... refreshingly upfront. Still, Shawn decided quickly that it was definitely better to avoid Sosi for the most part. The exception was that Sosi was clearly a worthy opponent at billiards... so Shawn made a plan to steel himself for the necessary insults in order to play against the best. Gaming was an important skill for thieves, after all.

Esme, like Katie, was also pretty likeable from the start. She was definitely friendly, definitely straightforward in what she wanted and thought, and though she had a kind of charming naivete, Shawn thought that there was something she was hiding under her exotic mystique. He didn’t, however, have the feeling that Esme was hiding anything that would hurt anyone. She seemed like a solid companion. She also seemed, though, like if you got off on the wrong foot with her, that she wouldn’t be someone you wanted to be on the wrong side of.

And, at least among the Disbarred Bards, that just left Thomas Kent. And Thomas seemed quite out of place among them. Very quiet. Extremely difficult to draw out. And when Shawn had succeeded in getting Thomas to open up a little, all he found out was that Thomas had wanted to be a Paladin, which left the huge question of why on Glorianna he would be put in a class with rest of them. Shawn couldn’t really see what they had in common. But. Thomas must have some kind of secret that explained why he was in the Disbarred Bards class instead of the Paladin class. And thieves, after all, didn’t just steal things... they stole information, too. Shawn thought he’d keep an ear and an eye out to see if he could figure out what it was Thomas must be hiding. Initially, though, Thomas was just charmingly fumbly about trying to do the tasks they were learning. Most of the time, Shawn quickly found himself forgetting his plan to learn Thomas’ secret, and was instead trying to encourage him to learn to throw daggers, to pick locks, to balance and climb and move silently. It clearly didn’t come easily to Thomas. Shawn found it surprisingly rewarding to help him. When he earned one of Thomas’s tentative little smiles, it made Shawn feel good in a way he wasn’t used to.

Today, though, the lesson was focused on how stealth wasn’t just about moving quietly, but using strategic thinking to choose locations for concealment, about moving carefully between those locations. And for some reason, Thomas seemed to be in his element – he knew a little Germanish, the Master’s mother language. The praise from the Master, and the ability to show off a little to the rest of the class, seemed to be going well for Thomas. Shawn wondered briefly about Thomas’s background... to know more than one language wasn’t so common around here. Thomas was apparently from Albion, so maybe education was different there, Shawn thought. But he made a mental note.

And then class was dismissed for the day. Shawn spent the time training in the practice room. He’d never seen so much training equipment before. He’d started out lifting weights, figuring he’d move more stealthily if he could rely on strength to support dynamic, strategic movements when trying to get between hiding spots. But then he found that the balancing exercises on the tightrope were more rewarding than he expected. He still fell off multiple times, and at least once heard Katie laughing at him from the defense training area. He had yet to try the combat dummies out, but had the feeling that he was going to need to practice attack and defense, too.

Shawn managed to get himself to dinner just barely in time, having stopped in the washroom to take a bath after the heavy training. Katie had made a bald-faced comment about his stench, and he thought after all that he had access to warm bathing water anytime he wanted, here. He really ought to take advantage of it. And Katie wasn’t really exaggerating, Shawn thought to himself. He did smell pretty bad.

So Shawn was quite pleased to arrive at dinner feeling fresh and clean. Unfortunately, his jokes didn’t go over well with his classmates, but that was all right. Because after dinner he was just planning to head back to his room, and his roommate, Aeolus, seemed to always appreciate his puns.

Shawn cleaned up dishes for Ifetaya after dinner, and headed back to his room. As he opened the door, he could hear the enchanting sound of pan-pipes being played enthusiastically, and as he came in, he could see that Aeolus was sitting in the middle of his bed, as usual. As he came in the room, Shawn saw his roommate brighten and smile at him. “I wrote a song! Would you like to hear it?” Shawn nodded; Aeolus was in the actual, non-Disbarred, Bards class. And it was clear from all the musical instruments (mostly hidden among a great deal of random objects and just plain trash on Aeolus’s side of the room) that he was indeed a musician.

Shawn already liked Aeolus, never mind the mess. Just like Esme, with her oddly colored eyes and unfamiliar accent, Aeolus struck Shawn as a little exotic. Different enough to be alluring, but not so different as to be off-putting. In Aeolus’s case, it was little stubby horns and a snub nose. He’d told Shawn on the first day that they were his inheritance from his mother, who was a faun, and who had left him on his father’s doorstep when Aeolus was just a baby.

Shawn thought to himself that he’d never known his father, who had died when he was very young. So he knew what it was like to only have one parent, and to always be wondering about the other one. They clearly had left some marks on you, but you could never find out what they meant. And it was only more so, for Aeolus. Shawn was still trying to figure out what he carried on from his own father. Though he certainly didn’t have his Mama's dark hair.

Shawn sat himself down at his desk in the terribly uncomfortable chair and settled in as best he could to listen to Aeolus’ singing and playing. Aeolus closed his eyes, a blissful look came over his face, and he began to sing what was obviously a love song composed for Sophia, the receptionist. Shawn would have thought that was funny, but the sound of his roommate’s voice had a potent effect. It was bewitching... it filled Shawn with an ache that he didn’t entirely understand, at first; it felt like longing, but at the same time, he began to feel surprisingly aroused by that feeling. Like the longing had a focus, and the focus was the one producing the song that caused it.

Shawn had always been attracted to people regardless of gender, so he wasn’t entirely surprised to find himself attracted to Aeolus, horns and all. In fact, maybe *because* of the horns... 

But then Aeolus had finished the song, and though Shawn felt himself positively vibrating with energy – he wasn’t sure if it was romantic, sexual, or something else entirely – so Shawn made himself say something polite about the musicality of the piece. Aeolus grinned and thanked him. Shawn then hurriedly excused himself and went back to the bathing room. Never mind that he’d already bathed more frequently in the last several days than he had any other time in his life that he could remember. He needed privacy, and he thought to himself that the hot water would feel really good. It did; he found it easy enough to relieve the impulses he was feeling, and after taking care of that, and soaking for a few minutes longer, Shawn found his way back to his room. He felt much calmer, much more collected.

Aeolus was already asleep, which was just as well, Shawn thought. Not that there was anything wrong with being attracted to Aeolus, but... well, he was Shawn’s roommate. It felt extremely awkward to imagine being turned on pretty much any time you were in your room.

Shawn looked at the desk, with his class notes laid out. He’d thought, after class, that he’d study before turning in. He was definitely not in the right frame of mind to do that. He sighed heavily, and decided to just get in bed and try to go to sleep. His last coherent thought before falling unconscious was that Hero-U had promise, after all. Very definitely.


	3. Chapter 3

Shawn managed to avoid Aeolus for the next few days, until he felt like he could maintain his composure when his roommate sang. And it did get easier, after the initial thrill wore off. Shawn decided that it must be something to do with Aeolus’ faun heritage. Aeolus seemed oblivious to the effect, and Shawn thought that maybe his Bard classmates were all experienced enough with music to be able to resist it, or see it for what it was. Or maybe it was something about Shawn that made him more susceptible to this particular kind of charm?

But Shawn felt like he could now listen to Aeolus sing and feel the arousal touching the edge of his mind, and appreciate the musicality of the performance, and not let himself get carried away. Shawn realized he hadn’t had much music in his life, either... his Mama sang old tunes from Eire, but maybe part of the spell had been hearing an entirely different kind of music, and sung by someone who was actually a trained musician. Shawn knew his Mama wasn’t always singing quite the right notes.

At any rate, Shawn congratulated himself on the self-discipline it had taken to put this influence from his mind, and especially because it made things less awkward with his roommate. They got back to joking around and punning furiously, and Shawn only had to fend of Aeolus’s requests that Shawn speak to Sophia on his behalf. “You should talk to her yourself,” he told his friend. Aeolus pouted, but then made some more puns, so Shawn knew he couldn’t be too unhappy. Shawn just laughed and got back to studying his notes from class.

However, just about around the time he was feeling that he was settling into a routine, a rhythm, going to class, training in the training room, reading in the library, working for Chef Ifetaya, playing games in the recreation room with his classmates, listening to Aeolus sing in the evenings, and then studying before bed... right around then, things started going missing around the school. Naturally everyone accused the Disbarred Bards of being the perpetrators. Especially Terk.

Shawn had tried to avoid Terk as much as possible. And tried to avoid thinking about him as much as possible. He’d not even been at Hero-U two weeks yet, and Terk had given him demerits for stupid reasons like being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And he was particularly insistent about the school uniform. Shawn just didn’t have the money for it; though he admired the crisp blue color, when he saw them in the school store, or saw students wearing them... he just didn’t make that much money washing dishes or killing the odd Drat in the cellar and selling it to Gregor at the school store. And Shawn had to buy books and Rogue supplies – things like oil, lockpicks, and the like. So he had taken to sneaking around in the hallways, trying to avoid Terk.

He wasn’t even quite sure what Terk’s actual job was, other than making a nuisance of himself, exuding disgust, and making Shawn’s life hell. The man had the temperament of spoiled porridge.

So when things started going missing, Terk felt this was the perfect opportunity to expel the entire Disbarred Bards class. Even though there was no evidence against them! Shawn had to admit, though, that there was no evidence exonerating them, either. And if he were in the school administrators’ place, the Rogue class would be obvious potential culprits. When their classes were all about sneaking and picking locks, why wouldn’t people suspect them? He would have been surprised if no one had looked askance at them after things started going missing.

What Shawn did find surprising was how upset he was at the idea of leaving school. And it wasn’t the threat of jail, either. Not that he was looking forward to jail, of course. No, it was the prospect of leaving all his friends... even after only a few weeks, he already felt like he had more in common with some of them than anyone else he’d ever known. People who had a crappy hand dealt them in life, but were intelligent, crafty, and nimble. These were the kind of people he wanted to be like, who he wanted to spend his time with, who he wanted to learn from. For it all to end now, after he’d just started to get a glimpse of a life he could have that wasn’t abject poverty, wasn’t just him and his Mama... it was cruel.

Sure, Master Von Urwald made all that noise about the difference between Thieves and Rogues and moral compases, and how they were learning to be Rogues, but… the point was, regardless of what they called themselves, he could imagine getting into a caper with Katie, or learning a few tricks from Joel. He would miss Aeolus’ singing, no matter how hot and bothered it made him when he wasn’t paying enough attention to keep control, and he’d miss his roommate’s puns, too. And the food... when he laid in bed that night, thinking about the prospect of leaving, he actually cried just a little. Ifetaya’s cooking was like nothing he’d ever experienced in his life before... and he’d miss the Chef herself, too.

Shawn rolled over in bed, trying not to listen to the charming little snores Aeolus made when he fell really deeply asleep. Of course, Aeolus wouldn’t get kicked out if the missing items weren’t found. He was an actual Bard, not a Disbarred one.

Well. There wasn’t anything Shawn could do. The Master had tasked them with finding the thief and exonerating the Rogues class. Said it was up to them to defend their own honor, and that it was a good test of who could do Good for the rest of them. Never mind Good, Shawn thought. He just didn’t want to leave Hero-U. But unfortunately he had absolutely no idea where to look or what to do. Apparently he was as bad a Rogue as he had been a Thief. Eventually he fell into a fitful sleep.

Maybe it was the restlessness that meant he woke up in the middle of the night when he heard it: a strange sound coming from the hallway outside the dorm rooms. He roused, sat up in bed, looked over in the dim light at Aeolus; fast asleep. And the sound had definitely come from the hallway.

Well. Time to practice those sneaking skills, then, eh? Shawn got up, quietly changed into his daytime clothes, and crept out of his room into the hallway. He’d already been up late a few times, after he’d figured out that he could sneak down to the practice room after Terk had thrown them out of the Rec room at curfew. The first night he’d done it, Shawn had been feeling like he was close to getting good enough to make it across the tightrope that afternoon, and just wanted to try a few more times before bed. Terk patrolled the area just in front of the Hall of Heroes, but never came all the way back to the dorm hallway or the Disbarred Bards rooms downstairs, so that had been easy enough. And now, as he crept down the hallway trying to find the source of the strange noise, Shawn realized he didn’t hear Terk’s incessant pacing. Even the world’s worst person must need to sleep sometime, he realized.

Shawn was surprised to find an apple core in the hallway. And that was it. No sign of the thief. Except this one clue. He crept further down the hallway, searched all the rooms he could get into with his limited lock-picking ability. But no other signs. The thief liked apples. Shawn sighed and went to bed.

Over the next few days, Shawn continued to wake to the strange noise in the hallway. It took him a few nights in a row of prowling around and looking for more apple cores before he’d worked out the path the thief took. Eventually he started finding blue hair stuck in some places, and one night he thought he caught a glimpse of a sort of blue furry ball with two bird-like legs running away down the hall. He asked the other students about it. Esme said it smelled dusty. He tried to ask the teachers about it. Ifetaya was irritated that the thief kept stealing all her apples. The thief *really* liked apples.

So Shawn started leaving apples in various places along the path the thief took through the castle, and traps near them. He waited to see if the creature would come, but invariably fell asleep and eventually went back to bed. But finally, one night, just before Terk would have expelled them all, he caught it, chicken legs, blue fur, and all – and wailing at how the trap pinched its bony ankle. It called itself a Kwirk. It said it was taking things no one wanted, it wasn’t a thief. 

Shawn had never seen anything like it before... at least, not in real life. It did resemble some of the creatures he’d seen in portraits around the school that Esme had told him were “Meeps.” She’d said Meeps were forest creatures. Apparently the Kwirk was some kind of related cave-dwelling creature. And it was intelligent, though clearly thought about the world quite differently from humans.

At any rate, he tried to explain to the Kwirk that he and his fellow students would be blamed for the thefts, and that they were going to be thrown out of the school. He wasn’t sure why, but this alarmed the Kwirk enough that it said, “Shut down the school! Oh, no!” and immediately agreed to return the items and explain to the Headmaster what was going on, clearing the Disbarred Bards of any wrongdoing. Shawn thought to himself that it wasn’t quite true that the whole school would be shut down, but he didn’t bother to correct the Kwirk. This was a little error of omission that would do a lot of good for him and his friends. A Roguish choice, perhaps?

In any case, Shawn felt lucky that he’d figured out a way to reason with the Kwirk to get it to return the stolen items. And the Kwirk did seem convinced, though Shawn wasn’t sure he trusted the creature. Eventually, Shawn let it out of the trap and went back to bed, not entirely sure he’d solved the problem. But hoping that he had.


	4. Chapter 4

Only the next day Master Von Urwald came into the classroom, smirking with barely-contained smugness. He said to the class that the missing items had been returned. The smirk on Von Urwald’s face spread slowly into a wide smile, and he invited Shawn to explain just what had happened.

A little embarrassed, Shawn found himself recounting the events to the rest of the class. He didn’t think he’d done all that much, really. But he found himself on the receiving end of a variety of relieved, happy, and grateful smiles and compliments from his classmates. This was an entirely new feeling for him – to have done something for others, and be appreciated for it? His Mama always thanked him when he did things around the house, or worked a long day. But this felt different. And Shawn knew why: for his peers, the Disbarred Bards class was a kind of home, maybe even becoming a kind of family. And some of them had ulterior motives to be here, as well... goals which would remain unfulfilled if they were forced to disband. Everyone was just as grateful as he was not to have to leave. Well, maybe not quite as grateful as he was; after all, they wouldn’t have to go to jail.

Of course, Sosi wasn’t so grateful. He made a sour remark that naturally Shawn had been able to hear the Kwirk in the hallway, his room was on the end closest to it.

Shawn just dismissed that; it was Sosi, after all. And he still really didn’t think he’d done that much. He was mostly just happy not to be forced to leave Hero-U and his new friends. But it was nice to feel appreciated, too. He just basked in that feeling for the rest of the day.

Sosi, however, didn’t seem to forget this issue, and seemed to be determined to cross Shawn at every turn. A few weeks later, there was an unfortunate incident with Katie’s map, which Shawn just tried to forget about as best he could. But the main point was that Sosi hadn’t succeeded in getting Shawn kicked out of school – and he’d learned that Shawn wasn’t so easily intimidated, *and* had connections no one suspected. Of course, Sosi didn’t need to know that Shawn didn’t even know who those connections were... Unfortunately, he was no closer to finding out more information on his mysterious Patron. 

Anyway, most importantly, after she realized Shawn had been set up, Katie had almost immediately forgiven him about the map. Shawn was relieved that they had a good enough relationship that once she knew he hadn’t stolen it and betrayed her confidence, she was just as friendly and sarcastic as always. He thought it was because he’d often played darts with her (even though she always won) and because he’d helped her study for the lockpicking test. That was probably why she’d told him, before Sosi’s unfortunate maneuverings, that it was a map to pirate treasure in the Sea Caves, and she was going to spend midterm break searching the Caves for it. So, now that the business with Sosi was over, and the midterm was over, Shawn decided to go look for her in the Caves and see if he could help her. He had been practically salivating when Katie had told him about it. Treasure? Adventure? Danger? Yes please! He didn’t know if she’d want the help – after all, she was extremely capable, sure of herself, and plenty defensive when anyone implied otherwise. Something about her father questioning her abilities, he thought... but at any rate, he figured he’d try to find her, and offer his help, and see what she said.

So it was with great anticipation that Shawn ate a hasty breakfast, made sure he had healing potions and all his equipment, and then snuck around the secret hallways in their wing of the castle until he found the entrance to the Sea Caves. 

Working his way through the Caves was harder than he’d expected. The Sea Drats were tougher than the kind that he usually found in the castle’s wine cellar (though he figured Gregor would buy Sea Drat parts off him just as well as cellar Drats), and the strange reptilian creatures (they must be what Esme had called Gogs?) seemed strong enough that he just did his best to sneak past them… but even after all that it was worth it to find Katie on the other side of all that. As he approached cautiously, he took her in: standing next to a nice little waterfall, Katie was twice as lovely as the cascading water reaching from the ceiling of the cave into the deep pool in the floor. And when Shawn greeted her, she was happy to see him. She loved the Sea Caves, and he could see why. They were almost luminescent, mysterious, and full of beautiful colors and rock formations.  
And Katie shone with the same kind of luminescence: she was full of the life and energy of someone who was in her element, and knew she was achieving something important that she’d set herself to do.

On his way to her, Shawn had found a scrap of map that he thought might be the other half of her map, and when he showed it to her, she was ecstatic. “This is it! This is the piece that traitor stole from my father.” She started reading off the full lines of the riddles around the edges of the paper, and Shawn stood there with her, puzzling out what it meant. A moment went by as they both thought about the rhyme.

Then Shawn decided to risk it. He offered, “Katie, I’d love to help you find your treasure.” She looked at him suspiciously. “And you’ll want a share of it, then, of course?” 

Shawn felt a little stab of shame... after all, he *had* been hoping to get some loot out of this... hoping to be able to support himself and Mama for at least a few years while they tried to get higher-paying work... but this was Katie’s dream, and when she asked him directly like that, it felt surprisingly cheap to say he wanted loot (even if he did). What had happened to his goals of being a Thief? Though... frankly, he wasn’t sure she’d take kindly to him asking for a cut. If he wanted in on the adventure at least, he probably had to say he wasn’t interested in the treasure. And maybe he could still find some other treasure along the way; sometimes there were old chests you could loot, tucked into corners of the caves. And... maybe there was still some chance of getting some part of the pirate treasure, if they found it. 

Shawn had the stray thought that he didn’t like the idea of trying to get there first or somehow cheat her out of the treasure... he thought to himself that it was because Katie wasn’t someone he wanted to cross. Though perhaps the Master’s teachings about Rogues and morality were sinking in a little... In any case, what Shawn actually said to Katie was that he only wanted to help her. 

It was a sign of Katie’s trust in him that her suspicious look dissolved quickly and she said, “Thanks, Shawn. You’re a real friend.” She paused for a moment, looking over the map’s verses again. “Let’s see, we’ll need... ‘the Death’s Head Gems, both green and red, the Tattooed Skull of Captain Dread...’ Well, I saw the thing it’s calling the ‘mermaid’s hair,’ so I think I know where the skull is. And,” she looked at him for a moment, and then smiled and said, “And I think this is the green Death’s Head Gem,” pointing at the brooch she always wore around her neck. Shawn grinned and dug around in a pocket, and then said, “So this must be the red one, then?” holding up the brooch he’d taken off the corpse of a dead pirate – the twin to Katie’s.

Her eyes lit up and her smile widened, even more than when she won a hand at Poobah when they played after exam days. “Shawn, that’s amazing! That’s already two out of the three things we need!”

Shawn felt a wave of unfamiliar pleasure at how Katie was looking at him. Her gratitude was almost palpable. He’d gotten a taste of this when his classmates had thanked him for catching the Kwirk and keeping their class from being expelled. But this felt much more... personal.

“Well,” Katie said, looking back at the map. “I’ll go looking for the Tattooed Skull. That means you’ll need to go looking for the Captain’s Key.” Shawn nodded. He guessed that it would be in the possession of the Zombie Pirates, which Esme had told him about. She’d said he should avoid them, but Shawn steeled himself to do it, no matter how dangerous they were.

Katie clasped his hand and wished him good luck, and he was off to try to find the key. As he snuck through the caves, sliding through narrow spots and pressing himself against the wall as Gogs went by... patrolling? he guessed?... Shawn reflected on the events that had brought him to this particular situation. This was exactly what he had been looking for, all those weeks ago when he’d taken the assignment from the Chief Thief. Adventure! Danger! Treasure! Only this time... this time, he had someone to work with. And it was Katie. Who was formidable, for starters. And just as game for the adventure as he was. And Shawn felt he could trust her to have his back, and no member of a Thieves Guild would ever have been someone he could trust. This was worlds better than that.

It was hard work, getting through the caves and finding the pirates and outwitting the Zombie Pirate Captain. For a few moments there, Shawn had been afraid he’d end up joining the undead crew... but in the end he was victorious. He met Katie at the Death Wall, where they opened the door together, went through, and faced more Zombies and a Kraken and before Shawn knew it, they were standing in the hold of the ship, staring at a large quantity of treasure.

And then Katie surprised him yet again. “I don’t want to become a pirate. Not after seeing how it all worked out for them.” Shawn nodded sadly, thinking of all the zombies.

“No, I’m going to use it to make the inn into a home for old sailors. So they have somewhere to go when they can’t sail anymore. So they don’t have to die... like this.” She gestured around them at the Sea Caves. 

Shawn shook his head, looked her in the eye, and told her that was some true Roguery. Heroism, of a different sort than one usually thought of. “Master Von Urwald would be proud of you,” he said. Katie laughed, smiled at him, and gave him a share of the treasure even though he hadn’t asked for it. And... that was that.

Laying in bed later that night, Shawn thought to himself, it had been so satisfying to help Katie achieve her dream. The happiness that shone from her face when she described what she was going to do with the treasure... it was pretty wonderful, to think that he’d helped her with that. And it had been fun! A little harrowing, a couple of times, a few near misses. But overall, Shawn had enjoyed practicing his Disbarred Bard skills, with a fellow Disbarred Bard, and seeing just what he could do, in real situations. 

And Katie had only proved herself to be even more capable and admirable than Shawn had already thought. He would have been falling for her, he thought, if it weren’t for the fact that she’d never shown any interest when he flirted with her. She seemed to be game to be friends with him, and he found that he was just fine with being her close friend. In fact, it was a little bit of a relief to have a friend he knew he could be close to without worrying about where the relationship was going. Katie seemed to solidly enjoy his company, was happy to play darts with him and adventure with him, and that seemed to be it. And really, that was plenty!

All that having been said, though, what Shawn was the most excited about were the material rewards. Between the generous cut of Katie’s treasure, and the loot and Lyra he’d found laying around the Sea Caves, it was enough for him and Mama to be set for a very long time, much longer than he’d expected. This was *just* what he’d been hoping a career as a Thief would set him up for, and he’d already achieved it! And even without having to actually steal, per se. He still felt like he probably couldn’t tell Mama where his funds were from, but... whenever he could get himself out of Hero-U, down the road, anyway, he’d be able to support them. And... maybe he could even pay back his mysterious benefactor. Shawn liked the idea of not being beholden to his unknown Patron.

That was, only if Joel didn’t manage to convince him to spend it all on the latest trinkets in his store. Damn, he was a good salesperson. Shawn had already bought a couple of items before he realized what was happening: Joel was reading his body language and facial expressions, and extrapolating that Shawn had more disposable income than he had previously had. He was just subtly encouraging Shawn to invest in tools that would help with sneaking, with being a more effective Rogue... and Shawn did think that the items *would* be helpful, but... he just had to check himself when he realized how easily he’d fallen for Joel’s smooth ways. He made a note to himself to work on his best poker face when dealing with Joel, whether it was for cards or sales.

Well, that was a hazard, Shawn thought, of being successful. Others wanted in on it. He’d rather be successful, he decided, even if that was what went with it.


	5. Chapter 5

It was a little over a week later when Shawn regretted having felt sour about Joel. Because abruptly, Herr Kyro went missing. At first, he dismissed it. Joel had his own business that he was here to do, regardless of Rogue class activities... something about finding a raven statue. But when he was missing for the rest of the day, Shawn started to feel nervous. That wasn’t like Joel, to miss evening games. At the very least, he was missing his chances to curry favor with Sosi; and the opportunities to sell his wares to his fellow students after class. And as much as Shawn thought Joel’s ways were just a little too polished, a little too slick... he missed the fellow, just a bit. And while Shawn was still a little upset about the incident with Sosi and Katie’s map (after all, no one likes getting set up), Joel wasn’t such a terrible person that he deserved to be abandoned to whatever fate was currently in the process of befalling him. So Shawn felt like he ought to at least make an effort to investigate.

Sosi was acting particularly cranky and evasive, too. Shawn tried to rack his brain for what Joel had gossiped about the week prior, when they’d just been making small talk in the hallway, or what he’d caught fragments of between Joel and Sosi. Joel had mentioned several different places he went to via secret passages in the castle... Shawn tried to remember which one he’d mentioned most recently. Eventually, he settled on the catacombs under the Old City.

Fortunately, in the course of helping Katie out in the Sea Caves, Shawn had discovered an entrance to the catacombs. So, he got himself geared up, bought some extra healing potions and bandages from Gregor at the school store, put on his best sneaking moves, and headed straight there after dinner.

The catacombs were a whole different level of creepy than any other place he’d been around the castle. The cellars were dank, musty, and full of Drats and Proaches -- giant cockroaches with a nasty poisonous bite. The Sea Caves were mossy and strangely fresh, with ocean water coming and going with the tide, but slippery and slimy just the same, in places at least. The Sea Drats and Gogs were nothing to sneeze at, and the Zombie Pirates were definitely no joke. Fortunately he’d mostly conned his way out of that situation.

But the catacombs… it was dry, dusty, dead in there. He started to find all manner of things moving around with unnatural life... skeletons, flying skulls, and even more incorporeal creatures that felt yet more ominous. Even looking at them stealthily from a distance left him feeling cold in the deepest pits of his soul.

Shawn did his best to creep from statue to statue, hiding behind sarcophagi and tentatively investigating doors. He found a strange door; someone asked for a password. After some poking around, he managed to work out what it was. Shawn gave the password, and was startled to find, on the other side of the door, skeletons who weren’t attacking him like that one that had in the underground passage below the castle courtyard... and behind the skeletons was Fester, the fence that Joel had mentioned. And Shawn thought to himself, it’s a damn good thing that I had run into that ghost in the underground passageway... because it meant when I asked Ifetaya about it, she told me how to talk to them. Because Fester... wasn’t quite living.

Fester was, however, willing to tell Shawn about Joel. Pointed him in the right direction, as to where to look for him. Shawn noted, in passing, that there was a door to another room, off to the side; but the ominousness of the whole place was making him more and more nervous for Joel. If he’d been missing for this long, in this place... Shawn was starting to dread what he might find.

Shawn moved carefully from room to room, and then finally, behind a glowing magical barrier at the far end of the catacombs, he found Joel.

He was a pitiful sight. His usually immaculate clothes were torn, dirty, dusty, bloodstained. His already pale complexion was even more wan than usual. As Shawn approached cautiously, trying to see what was going on beyond the magic glow that spread across the hallway, already trying to work out what to do about the barrier... he saw Joel open his eyes. The misery and pain in them literally took Shawn’s breath away. Joel had definitely done him wrong, and could be a jerk sometimes, but... no one deserved to look like that.

Joel said weakly, softly, “Shawn! Get away from here, go as fast as you can!”

Shawn tried to tell Joel he was going to get him out of there, but Joel interrupted, becoming increasingly panicked despite his obviously weakened state. He said, “He’s coming... I can feel him... coming... back...” and then he looked like he passed out.

Shawn, not sure what Joel had meant, suddenly felt unnaturally cold, through and through. He turned away from the magical barrier and a terrifying sight awaited him. A ghostly form, far more terrible than any ghost he’d met around the castle, hovered just a few feet from him. It said something horrifying about Shawn not stealing its snack (it must mean Joel; Shawn shuddered at any number of interpretations, all of which were bone-chilling), and then Shawn found himself running for his life, trying to get away from the creature.

Only after he was several rooms away, having blindly fought off some of the obnoxious little winged skulls, and almost back to the castle, did he stop to think about what he’d just seen.

What was he going to do? He wasn’t prepared to fight something like that creature. But Joel... Joel was fading, fast. If Shawn waited any longer... he had no illusions about Joel living to tell the tale.

Think, O’Conner, think! Shawn actually thumped himself on the forehead, trying to focus, trying to regain his ability to strategize, trying to push away the abject fear that had paralyzed his ability to do anything other than run.

The first cogent thought was shame for that: for having run. But then Shawn remembered all the Master’s teachings about Rogues, and how they should be strategic rather than brawny. How they should come at a problem with cunning. How running sometimes meant you had more options; meant that you survived to fight, or avoid a fight, another day.

What had he gotten himself into, Shawn thought to himself. This place... this school for Heroes, this Disbarred Bards class… he’d found friends, interesting things to learn, fun and glorious adventures... it had actually all turned out pretty well. Until this moment. This moment where he realized, all at once, standing in the dusty catacombs hallway near the exit to the Sea Caves... this is what it took to be a Hero. He could just leave Joel to his fate. He could just walk away. 

And Shawn realized he couldn’t. He couldn’t just walk away. He liked Joel well enough that he didn’t want him to die, even by inaction. And... shuddering anew, thinking of how Joel had looked… Shawn thought to himself, no one should have to die like that. No one.

Again he tried to focus. He couldn’t fight the creature. It was a more powerful undead thing than he’d ever met. Who could fight something like that? And... all at once, he remembered a memorial to a Paladin in the catacombs – he’d seen it in passing, but hadn’t paid much attention because he had become increasingly worried about Joel. Shawn thought he’d recognized the name of the Paladin, but couldn’t place it. And that didn’t matter now; all that mattered was that it reminded him that Lady Moira, the Paladin instructor, was shown in a painting in the reception area wielding a flaming sword and fighting off undead. Lady Moira could take this thing, Shawn was sure of it.

He tried to think of what time it was, and whether she’d still be here... the instructors didn’t live in the castle like the students did; they left after the school day was done, to homes elsewhere in Caligari. Well, nothing he could do but make a run for it. So he did.

Shawn ran, through the Sea Caves, back up to the castle... but by the time he got up there, it was too late at night. He picked the lock to the Infirmary, hoping that he was wrong, somehow. But when Professor Glenshannon wasn't there (as he'd unfortunately expected) Shawn just laid down on one of the Infirmary beds, determined to see her as early as possible tomorrow. And he curled up on the cot, shivering under a blanket, thinking of Joel, alone, dying, being drained of his life by that terrifying creature. And though he couldn’t seem to get warm, he eventually fell into a fitful sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

It didn’t seem like that long before he was woken by the sound of Professor Glenshannon unlocking the door and entering the infirmary.

“Shawn! What in the world are you doing in here?” Lady Moira exclaimed. Shawn roused, and somewhat incoherently said, “Professor Glenshannon, I’m sorry, I picked the lock... I need your help, we need to go... the catacombs... Joel’s in there... he’s dying...”

The Paladin instructor came over to where Shawn was tangled in the blanket, trying to get up, pointing ineffectually towards the door, as if he could point to where Joel was, through the walls.

She stepped close, and if Shawn hadn’t been so poorly slept and so terrified about the whole situation, while at the same time feeling strangely determined to do something, he would have noticed that she smelled nice, and her hands felt good on his arms as she tried to still him, steady him.

“Shawn. Slow down, now. Start over, from the beginning.” Moira’s voice and gaze did steady Shawn, quite a bit. It made him feel like maybe he was just starting to thaw after his time in the catacombs, after what he’d seen.

Shawn took a deep breath and said, “Joel is missing.” Lady Moira nodded. “I found him. He’s in the catacombs, behind a magical barrier of some kind. And there’s a creature...” Shawn shuddered, unable to continue for a moment.

Moira said softly, keeping her strong but gentle grip on his arms, “Describe the creature, now, Shawn, if you can.” Shawn shook his head, but then nodded, and did his best.

Moira gasped at his description. “A Wraith, is it?” She let go of Shawn’s arms, and then, almost to herself, said “Well, time to get to it then!” She turned back to Shawn and said, “Do you think you can show me where he is?” Shawn nodded, feeling a kind of confidence fill him. With Lady Moira, he was pretty sure that thing... that Wraith, apparently... couldn’t touch him. He’d do what he could to help, he had weapons that worked on undead creatures… but he knew she could take the thing down.

Lady Moira went to a side room and came back with a sword and shield, wearing armor over her clothes. She nodded to Shawn and they set off for the catacombs. As they hurried through the castle, she said to him, “Now, Shawn, I want you to stay away from the Wraith. Your job will be to get Joel back here to the Infirmary, however you can. I’ll deal with the creature.”

Shawn nodded, and followed her advice. They charged through the catacombs, Moira slashing skeletons and skulls and ghostly creatures with her sword, felling them in single blows... some of them even fleeing before her sheer power. And then finally they came to the magical barrier. She faced off with the Wraith, and her sword, which was now fully flaming, made relatively short work of the creature. As she defeated it, Shawn felt a wave of relief as the magical barrier evaporated.

He rushed to Joel, who was laying in an untidy heap behind a sarcophagus. “Joel! Joel, wake up, come on, come back to us...” Shawn said, trying to pull him out of the corner, rubbing Joel’s hands, trying to get them warm.

Joel stirred, looked up at him deliriously, and said, “Shawn... Shawn, he’s not gone... he’s still... draining me...”

Shawn glanced over to see Lady Moira standing just a little back from them. She nodded. “Yes. He’s not gone. I’ve just disbanded his partially-constituted form. I’ll have to find his physical anchor, his phylactery, and destroy it. I think I know where it is; we passed it on our way in.” Shawn remembered a strangely delocalized feeling of dread in one part of one room; he nodded to Lady Moira.

Moira knelt down beside them, placing a hand on Joel’s cheek, and then on Shawn’s hand where it clutched Joel’s icy one. “Now listen very carefully, Shawn. I’m going to destroy the phylactery. The Wraith might manage to materialize again, and I can only hope I will be his first target, because I’m trying to destroy the thing that maintains his unholy unlife. Shawn, you *must* get Joel back to the Infirmary. Go as quickly as you can. Joel,” and she touched Joel’s cheek again. “Be brave. Shawn is going to get you to safety.” Joel nodded weakly.

Hearing Professor Glenshannon say the words somehow filled Shawn with a confidence he never knew he’d had. She stated it like it was a fact. And Shawn knew somewhere deep inside him, that it was because it *was* a fact. He *was* going to get Joel to safety. This was no place to die.

Shawn started to help to get Joel up, as Lady Moira turned away to go destroy the Wraith. Joel winced as he tried to stand and failed. “I... I think my leg is broken,” he said. Shawn cursed softly, realizing that even if that weren’t the case, Joel was so weak... and while Shawn *had* been lifting weights in the practice room, he wasn’t strong enough to simply carry Joel all the way back to the castle; Joel must weigh about as much as Shawn did. 

He pulled out one of his last remaining healing potions and managed to get Joel to drink it down, holding it to Joel’s lips and using his other hand at the back of Joel’s neck to stabilize his head. Joel’s energy improved immediately, though that wasn’t saying much.

“Okay, let’s just take this a step at a time, all right, Herr Kyro? Let’s get you home.” Joel nodded, lips still very pale and hands still deathly cold. Shawn got his shoulder under Joel’s arm and got him up, taking most of his weight. Joel clutched at him as best he could with his hands and rested his remaining weight on his good leg. And they began the long trip back to the castle.


	7. Chapter 7

A few days later, Shawn stepped out of the classroom, still stifling a yawn, and turned to look down the hallway. It was funny, he thought. How you can see someone every day, or almost every day, not just in class, but standing around in the same place, waiting for you to come talk to them... and how you just get used to it. And how much it throws you, when they're not there. Never mind all of the intensity of what had actually happened in the last few days. Just the simple absence of something you were used to... that by itself was disconcerting.

So it was with a feeling of relief that he walked over to Joel and asked him what he had for sale today -- something they usually did every day; but all told had been almost a week since they'd last had a normal conversation like this. Joel was still looking a bit worn; though the broken leg and other physical damage the Wraith had inflicted on him was basically healed, according to Professor Glenshannon, the emotional drain of the whole situation had clearly made an impact on him. But as Joel started to rattle off the new arrivals in his shop, Shawn was even more relieved to see the practiced sly smile slip back over his friend's wan features. Good. If he's thinking about how to get a better deal out of me, then he's a long way towards getting better. Shawn never thought he’d be happy to see Joel try to swindle him. But after the last few days... well, he *was* happy to see it.

As Shawn thought through the items Joel had listed, noting that he had several of the items that Fester had, only a third the price, he saw Joel's bargaining face slip slightly as he added, "Of course, for you, I'm willing to offer a better deal. I'll only make a slight profit on it, but, well..." he trailed off, glanced down, breaking eye contact. Shawn was surprised at this exception from an otherwise shrewd businessman, but realized Joel was still trying to work out what to do with what had happened to him, and what Shawn had done for him. So Shawn took the cheaper price as a gesture of gratitude, and said, "Thank you, Joel. I'll take the boots." Items exchanged, money exchanged. The reassuringly familiar transaction between them.

They stood there a moment, and then Shawn asked, "How are you feeling today?" Joel finally met Shawn's eyes again. "Much better than I was, thank you." He smiled, and it was a nearly-genuine smile with only a little of the slyness mixed in.

They bantered for a bit about various rumors and gossip, the normalcy of it still seeming both strange given what had happened between them, and yet also reassuring. Eventually the topic turned to the current difficulty Shawn was having with picking more advanced locks. Joel shook his head, chuckled, and told Shawn he'd been picking locks with Houdinis and other advanced equipment for years before coming to the school, essentially since he was a child. He said Shawn would just need to keep practicing.

Shawn caught a kind of tiredness behind Joel’s words belying the normalcy of the conversation, an echo of how his terrible experience with the Wraith was still affecting him. Shawn felt a little surge of compassion, and what he realized must be a touch of tenderness towards his friend, along with a feeling of gratitude that Joel was at least mostly recovering from the experience. So maybe that mix of feelings was why Shawn said on impulse, "Well, you must be a master thief, because you've stolen my heart." He’d intended it as a flirt, as play, just something to lift Joel’s spirits. 

Joel looked at him in genuine surprise at first, but didn't miss a beat, replying coyly, "Well, then it would be only fair to offer you mine in return."

It was a joke, of course. Joel's eyes danced as he said it, and the sly smile was there... this was more banter. Wasn't it? Suddenly uncertain, Shawn couldn’t tell if there was something serious behind the reply.

At any rate, Shawn certainly hadn't expected Joel to return the comment in kind, and couldn't come up with something to say in return. Thankfully they'd been talking long enough that it was time for Magic class, so when the bell tolled three, it was easy to exclaim (awkwardly, he thought in retrospect), "Oh! It's time for class. I never miss a magic class, you know, it's always a good source of tools for sneaking around and... well, you know." Joel nodded, clearly amused, as Shawn literally took off running to try to get upstairs before Professor Silvia closed the magical door to the classroom. As he ran, Shawn had the half-thought that even if he felt a bit flummoxed by the situation, if it made Joel feel a bit better, more confident, then it was worth it.


	8. Chapter 8

Two weeks after Joel’s rescue, Shawn was out of breath, having fought his way to the end of the cellar. After what he’d experienced in the catacombs, Shawn hadn’t wanted to venture back there, at least for a little while. He’d tried it once, and it just reminded him too much of how frightening it had been, and it also brought him face to face with what it had felt like to save a life, to be a Hero – something he definitely hadn’t sorted out for himself yet. And that in turn also confronted him with some feelings he couldn’t quite track down regarding Joel himself. So Shawn had decided he ought to revisit the cellars.

He was getting pretty good at retaining a sense of direction underground, and he’d already explored all the rooms in most directions in the cellars, other than this one, so he was fairly certain that it was the end of it. He’d killed lots of Drats and Proaches and brought them to Gregor (to eat, he supposed, but preferred not to think too hard about that). And periodically, he’d run into a wolf down there in the cellar. The wolf’s fur was light, silvery, shining... the eyes wise, deep yellow. He’d spoken kindly to it, partly because it seemed safer that way. But also because the wolf felt familiar, felt both dangerous and friendly... because everything else down here (except for ghosts) was always automatically trying to kill him. The wolf didn’t seem to be trying to kill him right away at least, and he’d learned in his exploring that if something potentially dangerous wasn’t trying to kill you, you did your best to keep it that way.

So when he came into what he figured was the last room of this branch of the cellar, and encountered the horrific Giant Proach, and it turned to take a swipe at him... first Shawn felt a sense of resignation fall over him – this would be what did him in, because he didn’t have time to ready himself or guzzle a healing potion – and then, after the wolf appeared suddenly on the other side and the Proach’s attention shifted to it, Shawn felt a sense of deep gratitude to the creature. He downed some potions, threw out some of his protective runes, and then dove in, himself, and he and the wolf alternated blows until the unspeakable monster fell, twitched slightly, and then lay still.

Shawn sighed in relief, wiped off his dagger, and sheathed it. He looked over at the wolf, who was watching him intently. He’d spoken to it, a few days ago, telling it he was thinking of exploring this last room, because he could hear there was something big in here. Gregor had said he was scared of whatever was behind that door, which he’d labeled “Dangerous.” Shawn had seen the shape of the Giant Proach moving in the dim light at the end of the room, but hadn’t yet decided to go after it. He’d felt a little silly, telling the wolf his plans And now he was glad he had. He somehow knew that the wolf had come, knowing Shawn was going after the Proach.

And as he looked intently back at the wolf, thinking how grateful he was, the feeling of familiarity intensified. He said softly to it, “Thank you for your help. I couldn’t have done that without you.”

And then something remarkable happened. The wolf bared its teeth in a canine smile, and started to rise up on its hind legs; then the eyes became incredibly familiar, and a shimmering seemed to come between Shawn’s eyes and the wolf – he wasn’t sure if it was his eyes, or the air, or the wolf itself... and as he suddenly recognized whose eyes they were, all at once Esme was standing there in front of him.

It wasn’t that it *wasn’t* a shock to see her transform from a wolf back into her human form. Because it was a shock. It was just that... at the same time, she did it so naturally, and it fit so well with everything else Shawn knew about her... and she was so beautiful, whether wolf, human, or shapeshifting in between... that on the one hand, he was made speechless by the sight; while on the other hand, he was already matching her sly smile as she stepped forward towards him and said, “Surprised?”

Shawn’s smile widened and he said, “Sort of. It explains how you’re such a good hunter.” She laughed, eyes twinkling. Shawn said, “Are all your people...” Esme nodded. “Yes.” That also explained many turns of phrase and other things she’d said that hinted at this. She hadn’t been all that sneaky about it, actually. But then, she had only been just learning to be a Rogue. Maybe she’d be more careful in the future.

“You von’t tell?” she said, smiling that toothy smile again, and Shawn could now see the wolf in it, and even if it were just that he wouldn’t have wanted to risk her wrath by telling someone her secret, he also knew he didn’t want to tell her secret to anyone. He liked Esme; he wanted her to stay here with them at Hero-U. 

So he said, “No, of course not. I’ll keep it to myself.” Esme nodded, satisfied, and turned to leave the cellar. Shawn watched her go, appreciating both her lovely form and also the confidence with which she moved. Esme had seemed so uncertain, back at the beginning of the term, especially when the first exam had come around. It had taken him a straight week of telling her to talk to Master Von Urwald about her difficulty with written language. Shawn was fairly certain that though the Master would want Esme to have a certain set of skills, including reading and writing effectively, Von Urwald was definitely not there to make things unduly hard on them. He would be quite likely to adapt his lessons in some ways for the unique capabilities of his students.

Shawn wasn’t even sure how he knew that about the Master; he just had that sense, based on the way Von Urwald had responded to Shawn himself. As he’d reflected on that, he’d realized that was another thing he admired about their instructor: his support. It made the arguments about being a Rogue rather than a Thief a little more appealing, he thought. The idea that there was no one way to be a Rogue, but that it was about cleverness, strategy, and savvy, not just about reflexes, stealth, and stamina... Shawn had to admit that it was gaining in its appeal.

In any case, it had felt good when Esme had finally gone to speak with the Master about the written tests, and later told Shawn that it had worked out better than she’d expected, and it had felt good when she’d thanked him.

Just as good as it had just now when he thanked her for saving his life when fighting the Giant Proach. Because that’s what she’d done, Shawn realized. He’d just said he couldn’t have done it without her. But what he hadn’t said was that he probably wouldn’t have survived without her. And as she’d transformed, and given him that knowing smile... he realized that she knew it. And she’d saved him without a second thought. Just as he’d saved Joel.

Shawn shook his head. This was no place to sit around contemplating heroism, on his part or on his fellow students’ part; or to be thinking about Esme and her confidence as a hunter, and her newfound confidence as a Rogue. He’d better get back up to the castle proper. And probably he ought to go to bed, he realized, as he yawned. Fortunately, between Esme and him, they’d cleaned out the cellar pretty well, and nothing attacked him on his way back up. He stopped in to wash up briefly, and went to bed without Aeolus stirring an inch. Not that there was anything that would wake Aeolus, snoring away obliviously. Shawn chuckled to himself as he drifted off to sleep. He was definitely coming to enjoy the people and activities here at Hero-U... they might be turning everything upside down in him, but... it was worth it, he thought.


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, the strange dynamic with Joel came up again. The following day was another free day, and Shawn was talking with Joel after class, asking what he intended to do tomorrow. Shawn would again be trapped in the school while his friends were free to roam the town. He was hoping for some vicarious pleasure... even if he couldn’t go out and explore, even if he was confined here... at least he could imagine what his friends would be doing with their day of freedom.

Joel looked a little shifty, and said, "Well, there's some business I have to attend to, but I was considering spending a little more time here at the school."

Shawn's first thought was that Joel was thinking he'd venture back into the catacombs... after all there was still treasure to be found (and fenced) there. The thought made Shawn nervous. But should he ask? It wasn’t like he was Joel’s keeper.

Though Shawn's poker face was improving, it was still no match for Joel's powers of perception. He'd noticed Shawn's slight frown, and shook his head, raised a hand, and added, "Not that I'm planning to spend any time *under* the city this time, mind you. I've had quite enough of that for the moment. Maybe at some point I'll feel up to it again, but..." he paused, "I know my limits."

Shawn nodded, a little relieved. Not like it had been easy to rescue Joel from the Wraith, even with an extremely experienced Paladin instructor with him. Then a thought occurred to him:

"Hey, Joel... I picked this up in the catacombs," he rummaged around in his bag, looking for the golden wine he'd gotten out of a chest. "Ah-ha! There it is," he said, pulling the dark green bottle out. Then he hesitated, feeling slightly awkward again. "I know you enjoy a good wine, or of course you could sell it. I feel like it's the least you should get from going into the catacombs and suffering like you did, and with nothing to show for it." Shawn didn't elaborate on all the other remarkable items he'd picked up there so far, but he figured he was returning the gesture of goodwill -- after all, Joel had been giving him consistently better prices since his rescue, which was his way of showing gratitude. And... Shawn suspected that there was more to it, that he wanted to give Joel a gift, but he didn’t look too closely into that feeling.

Joel looked momentarily surprised, but then smiled and said, "Thank you, Shawn, I do enjoy a good wine." As Shawn handed him the bottle, Joel added, "Not during the day of course."

Shawn laughed and made a bad pun about day-drinking. Joel winced, but smiled anyway. He hadn't put the wine away, yet, though. He was reading the label; Shawn figured Joel was assessing its value.

Shawn couldn't resist, so he added, "And day-drinking is bad enough... it's worse if you're drinking alone. I'd be happy to save you from that fate, at least." He'd meant it as a little bit of a flirt, but something that could be dismissed if the hearer weren't interested. He enjoyed bantering with Joel. He wasn’t sure what exactly was going on between them, since the rescue. He was genuinely curious if Joel could keep his poker face up if he'd had a little to drink. And he had faith in Joel not to take it the wrong way -- and to turn him down cleverly and politely if he wasn't interested.

A brief look of shock passed over Joel's features as he glanced up from the wine bottle. Shawn smirked at him suggestively. Then the sly look crept back in and Joel said, "I'd be delighted to share this bottle with you. It seems hardly fair for you to rescue me and then give me treasure, without me thanking you in return, *again*."

Shawn nodded and said, "Great. How's tonight, then?" Joel looked suddenly uncertain, and then said delicately, "I think it wouldn't do to be seen drinking in the common areas -- you know how Terk is – and I’d rather not include Sosi in this little party." Joel said the name bitterly, and with good reason: Sosi had chosen to save himself from the Wraith at Joel’s expense, and then left Joel to die in the catacombs. And Joel still had to share a room with his betrayer... Joel added, “He won’t have left for town yet. What about you? Will your... ah..." he trailed off.

Shawn realized where Joel was headed with this. "Aeolus will already be gone to his family's place. So we won't have to share." Joel sighed in relief. They both knew Shawn's roommate was legendary for drinking a lot and then singing off-key about whoever he had a crush on at the moment. Actually, Aeolus would sing about whoever he had a crush on, regardless, but when he got drunk, he got off-key. Shawn had learned this the hard way after giving him a bottle of wine as a present in the first week of class; it was always better to avoid that if you could. Also... Shawn wasn’t sure he could keep his wits about him, if *he* were drunk, while Aeolus was singing, off-key or not. It hadn’t been a problem, not since that first week, but Shawn didn’t want to chance it. And besides, then there'd be more wine for them, if Aeolus wasn't around. 

Then Shawn admitted, "His side of the room's no cleaner, though... so you'll have to put up with the mess. Just not the source of the mess." Joel looked rueful but nodded. "See you tonight," he said.


	10. Chapter 10

After dinner, Shawn headed back to his room, and tried to sort of push Aeolus' mess to the side, but was just in the process of giving up when he heard a knock at the door.

And there was Joel, bottle in one hand, two elegant wine glasses crossed at the stems in the other, wearing that same sly smile.

Shawn let him in, and threw his notes from class that day in the drawer of his desk. He rummaged around in the other drawer for a bottle opener, but Joel said, smirking, "I've brought the necessary equipment."

So Shawn just sat on his bed while Joel delicately set the wine glasses on the desk, deftly cut the seal on the bottle and worked the cork out with the opener he drew from a pocket, and then poured the wine with a practiced hand into the glasses.

He offered one to Shawn with a slight bow and then nodded at the desk chair, raising an eyebrow in question. Shawn immediately said, "Oh, sure, please make yourself comfortable. Not that that chair has ever been comfortable. At least it keeps me awake when I'm trying to study." Joel chuckled and then raised the glass to him.

"To my rescuer," he said, surprisingly seriously, though there was still a glint of humor in his eyes. Shawn felt a little shiver, inside, at being called Joel’s rescuer. It still hadn’t sunk in, he thought, what it had been like to save him. To really be a Hero. To make a difference, to save a life... it should have given him a lot to think about. But Shawn hadn’t known where to start. He realized that maybe he’d been finding things to keep himself busy so he didn’t have to figure it out.

Shawn shoved all that away, and raised his glass in return, sitting on the edge of his bed, and said, "Here's hoping that future pursuits won't result in quite such a close call." Joel nodded honestly at that, then brought the glass up to his nose and breathed in deep, long, and slow. Shawn tried to follow suit, but he'd never really understood what people were trying to appreciate. Wine tasted okay, and it was fun to get buzzed, but other than that... He tried harder than usual and was able to conjure up the thought that maybe it did smell a little more interesting than the table wine that was available at dinner. (Which he was usually too tired to drink anyway.)

And it was smoother than the kind he had handed off to Aeolus, too, he realized, as he took a sip. He'd had a taste of that bottle when Aeolus had been merrily guzzling away -- this was definitely better wine. He looked over at Joel, whose eyes were still closed as he lowered the glass and continued to appreciate the sip he'd just taken.

After a while, he opened his eyes and said, "Yes, this is a fine vintage. Worthy of commemorating the event." Suddenly Shawn wasn't quite sure what event Joel was referring to -- somehow it didn't seem like the obvious one of the rescue in the catacombs -- but rather than show the nervousness that had rapidly insinuated itself in him, Shawn just took a swig of the wine. He watched Joel watch him and realized that he hadn't missed a thing. It was hard to pull something over on Joel, after all.

So Shawn changed the subject, told Joel about the memorial to his father, Donal, which was in the mysterious room next to Fester’s store in the catacombs (that was the thing he’d gone back into the catacombs to check out). That it said Donal had been the Raven; the king of thieves in Sardonia! Joel nodded; apparently he’d known this already. Well, of course, he’d been to that memorial, if he’d been to see Fester... and of course, Joel was here to find the Raven statue anyway, had been researching it... that left Shawn wondering why Joel hadn’t mentioned this before, but maybe it was the wine making him relaxed, because he just ended up asking about the stories Joel had heard of Shawn's father. Joel lit up, telling him more about his own father's search for the Raven statue that represented dominion over the thieves in Sardonia, and comparing these stories with the ones he'd heard of Shawn's father. Now that Shawn had got Joel telling stories, things were more comfortable again. And Shawn made sure to keep Joel's glass filled as often as he refilled his own.

And gradually, Shawn noticed even through his own buzz that Joel was being freer with his information than he usually was. It was one thing to tell Shawn a story that was basically common knowledge. It was another to be hearing about some of Joel's less successful experiences when he was first learning to pick locks and find secret doors and about his childhood in Marete. Shawn noticed, though, that even inebriated, Joel didn't divulge anything about his current operations or contacts. A skilled Thief, indeed.

As he talked, Shawn also found himself thinking about what he liked about Joel. He was, at first impression, secretive, untrustworthy, self-serving, willing to sell you out if it worked out better for him, and totally spineless in the face of Sosi's manipulation. Stealing Katie's map and framing Shawn for it (under Sosi's direction) had not done much for Shawn’s initial impressions of Joel. But... at the same time, Joel was charming. He mostly didn't pretend to be trustworthy when he wasn't; he was upfront about his business. And he had seemed pretty genuinely upset about being forced by Sosi to betray Shawn about the map. His fear of Katie's retribution had been very real, of course, but Shawn knew that was because Katie was formidable. Because he knew Katie. And so did Joel.

Still, very real fear was quite strategic to use in that situation, to get Shawn to go steal back the map, and apparently be solving both Joel and Katie's problems while all the time being set up to get caught. So even truth could be used for manipulation. Joel *had* seemed quite contrite afterwards... though... it was always possible that it was because he'd been caught and Shawn had vindicated himself. Shawn’s thoughts went in circles for a bit as Joel talked. But… honestly, really, at bottom, it had all been a clumsy attempt on Sosi's part to get rid of Shawn. And why? He still wasn't sure if there was more to it than simple dislike. In the end, Joel had certainly been at fault, too, but... that certainly hadn’t been enough to keep Shawn from wanting very much to save his life in the catacombs.

Joel wound up a story he was in the middle of telling and looked at Shawn critically. "You've been awfully quiet. No terrible puns or snarky comments..." Shawn stood and went to the bottle of wine, now three-quarters empty, and poured nearly all of the rest of it into their glasses. He stood, leaning against his clothes cabinet, swirling the wine in the glass the way he'd seen Chef Ifetaya do it, not because he knew what he was doing, but because it was meditative and let him think about what to say to Joel. Could he ask him a question he wanted an honest answer to?

"Joel..." he started. Then paused. Joel said, "Yes?" Shawn sighed, took a big sip of the wine, and then said, "Why do you let Sosi push you around? Why did you let him goad you into all these terrible things? He put your life at risk. *And* he's a jerk. He isn't worth it."

Joel's face twisted with disgust. At himself, or Sosi, Shawn wasn't sure. "I'd rather not think about that swine right at the moment. *I* am having a nice evening and don't want to spoil it."

Then a moment later, he darted a quick, furtive look to the door. Was he really so under Sosi's thumb that he was afraid to badmouth him, even here? Shawn had never heard sounds through the walls, and there was no reason to think Sosi was purposely spying on them.

Shawn sighed, and Joel looked up at him. Then he sighed too, and said, "Shawn, I really can't tell you the reasons why I must keep out of trouble with Sosi. I'm sorry. So I'd rather not think about him right now."

Shawn nodded reluctantly, and downed half of his glass of wine in one gulp. He crossed back to the table and emptied the rest of the wine into their glasses. He wasn't sure whether he or Joel were further ahead on beverage consumption, but he also didn't know what Joel's tolerance was. Or his, for that matter -- this was more wine than he'd ever drunk at one time before. Though, either way, he'd heard the 10 'o clock bell a little while ago so he knew they'd been drinking it slowly enough that maybe it wasn't much of a test. Just an excuse for a little more honesty and openness than usual.

Shawn went and sat on the floor at the side of his bed, facing Joel as he sat elegantly in Shawn's very uncomfortable desk chair, one leg draped over the other.

"Okay," he said to Joel. "But you have to promise me that you won't let him risk your life like that again."

Joel seemed surprised at Shawn's vehemence (Shawn was a little surprised at his own vehemence), but collected himself and said, "Do you mean the risk that Katie would eviscerate me for stealing her map, or that the Wraith would drain my life force to nothing? I'm not sure which is more terrifying." 

It was an attempt at a joke, but Shawn remembered vividly what Joel had looked like when he found him in the Wraith's magical cage. Even with the healing potions, the broken leg and low life force had hobbled him as they’d tried to get out of there. Joel had passed out multiple times and Shawn, exhausted at that point himself, had had to alternately drag him and carry him out of the catacombs and to the Infirmary. Joel, when he was awake during the process, had varied between incoherent and plaintive, clinging to Shawn for dear life. When you'd had that experience with someone, it was hard for them to put you on. At least, too much. Shawn could already tell that Joel could still bluff him. But... not as well as before.

So Shawn just said to him, "Very funny. Just promise." Joel swallowed hard, took a too-big-to-be-polite gulp of his wine, and said, "I promise." Shawn wondered if it was the first real promise Joel had ever made in his life. And whether he’d actually keep it, even now... though, Joel did seem changed after this experience. Maybe this promise *would* hold.

There was a moment of silence, and then Joel seemed to have regained his good humor and wits, because he said, "Now I have a question for you, Herr O'Conner."

They both chuckled at the imitation of their instructor. "What's that, Herr Kyro?" Shawn returned.

"Pandas? Really?"

Shawn let out a long, loud laugh. Joel’s taste in fashion was too impeccable for the bizarre clothing that Shawn had found in various treasure chests and drawers throughout the castle, the caves, and the catacombs. A few times Shawn had forgotten to remove the 'Suspandas' and had gotten a delicate but disdainful earful from Joel on them. How could he even see them? They were under Shawn's vest and jacket. Joel must be really looking.

Joel was laughing too, just a little less riotously. Then: "Oh, I think I'd better sit on the floor, too," he said suddenly, putting a hand to his head. Shawn was worried... surely Joel was recovered enough at this point to drink a half a bottle of wine over the course of three hours?

But Joel came and sat next to him against the side of the bed, still somehow elegantly. That was one thing he liked about Joel, Shawn realized. Sosi was wealthy. He came from money; from status. His elegance had been handed to him. Joel was a thief, born of thieves, apparently just like Shawn. Joel's elegance and gentility were learned, strategic. They were tools and tastes that he'd earned in spite of society. He was clever about it. And... Shawn had been consistently complimenting Joel since the beginning of school, admittedly at first just to make friends with him (like he had with everyone else in their class), but after a while, it was just natural. Because Joel always looked fantastic. Except when he was fighting to stay alive, of course. No one looks their best under those circumstances.

Joel took another sip of wine (there wasn't much left) and leaned his head back against the bed. "You still haven't answered my question, Shawn. Why do you wear those hideous clothes?"

Shawn laughed again and answered honestly, "I've found they provide good defense." He thought a minute. "Maybe because no fashionable monster wants to touch me." Joel laughed.

Then Shawn added, "And you should be grateful for the defense my fashion sense affords me. That's part of how I was able to come rescue you."

Joel finished his wine, and then turned his head to look at Shawn. That sly smile quirked one corner of his mouth up. "I'm going to be forever thanking you for that, aren't I?"

Shawn turned and looked Joel in the eyes, and though he was smirking, read the very real vulnerability behind it. Joel wasn't really playing. Shawn had seen the same look of gratitude, helplessness, and fear in Joel's eyes when Shawn was carrying him past endless sarcophagi and mausoleum after mausoleum after mausoleum. "Maybe," Shawn said, tentatively, not sure what exactly Joel meant.

Joel sighed. "I *want* to be forever thanking you for that," he said. He put his empty wineglass down, leaned over to Shawn, and equally tentatively gave him a slow little kiss on the cheek.

Shawn, shocked for only a moment, found himself extremely gratified at the gesture, and quite frankly more than a little interested in where this was going. He downed the last of his wine, set his glass aside, and said, "Well, when you put it *that* way, I have to say it doesn't sound so bad." Joel laughed, and Shawn leaned close to kiss him on the lips. He'd never kissed someone of the same gender before, but he'd certainly been attracted to them. It was better than he had expected. He'd only kissed a few other people so far in his life, but Joel was... pliant, somehow, and yet evasive. Just like he was in more public pursuits, he seemed to be at once both invested and cautious; interested and strategic. But this was far more pleasurable than just giving in to whatever urge presented itself, like it had been with others in the past. It became a kind of give-and-take, a little bit of a dance. It was playful, teasing, but extremely erotic nonetheless.

After a while, they stopped. The school bell tolled eleven, and Shawn said, "You know, I really hate to put an end to the evening." Joel looked a bit put out; he didn't quite pout but Shawn was left with the impression of pouting. Shawn emphasized, "I *really* do hate to. But this is the first night in a while when I haven't been in some underground part of the school until one a.m., and I was hoping to catch a little shut-eye."

Joel relented and chuckled, and said, "That's understandable." Then a fleeting look of fear crossed his eyes and he said carefully, "I... this may seem forward of me," Shawn laughed, given Joel's earlier behavior. Joel made a face and then continued, "But... I'd rather not go back to my room when my... roommate... is there. He won't care that I'm missing; as you know, he certainly didn’t care when I was missing in the catacombs." Joel paused for a moment, and Shawn imagined they were both thinking the same thing: Sosi was nearly a murderer, having left Joel to die and not having told anyone where he was. Then Joel went on, "I was just hoping for... a bit of a break, from him. With... someone I know I can trust my life to."

Shawn looked at him in surprise. Joel seemed very serious, and Shawn found he liked the idea of company. He said to Joel, "I'm assuming you're asking to share with me. I know *I* wouldn't want to see what lives in Aeolus' bed, and I'm not half as fastidious as you are." Joel chuckled softly. "Yes, I'd like to share with you."

Shawn said, "All right." So with that, they climbed into bed together; Shawn found himself wrapping his arms around Joel, who put his head on Shawn's chest and an arm around his middle. And it was true that between the chronic exhaustion and the wine, they were both asleep within moments.


	11. Chapter 11

Shawn was abruptly distracted from these new developments with Joel by the sudden appearance of holiday decorations all around the castle. 

“It’s the Nights of the Dead,” Aeolus explained to him. Shawn, of course, had grown up in Caligari, and he knew of the holiday. His Mama had just never celebrated it. Apparently, in the castle in particular, the borders between life and afterlife were particularly blurred during the Nights of the Dead. And the instructors, staff, and students were preparing for that time by decorating and making plans to honor the dead.

Aeolus said to Shawn, surprisingly seriously, “Though my mother is gone, I don’t know if she’s dead or not. So I don’t do anything in particular for the Nights of the Dead... though sometimes I’ve made offerings for my father’s father, who died a few years ago. What about you, Shawn? Do you have anyone to remember, during the Nights of the Dead?” Shawn thought for a moment. Why had this never come up, all these years? He knew his father had died when he was a baby. But suddenly, he found himself wondering if he could speak to his father’s ghost, like he’d spoken to the other ghosts in the castle. He knew, after all, where Donal’s memorial was...

Shawn looked over at his roommate, who was waiting patiently (though, likely to be composing a song in the back of his mind at the same time). Shawn said, “Well, I’ve never celebrated the holiday before. But my father died when I was little. Maybe I will try to do something for him, even though I never knew him.” Aeolus’ face broke out into his infectious smile, and he eagerly asked if Shawn would like to hear his latest. Shawn laughed and was agreeable, listening with his usual caution, lest Aeolus’ bewitching effect mean he’d need to go find some privacy (or perhaps some company, he thought wryly – how things had changed in the last few months!).

The song was quite good, though Shawn wasn’t quite sure what a “dead faun’s party” was, and why he’d leave his body at the door, but he found it easy to give Aeolus a round of applause when he finished it.

And then Shawn thought he ought to go chat with Ifetaya about his father. She was the one who had helped him to understand just what it was that he’d been seeing in odd places like down in the crypts below the garden or in the cellars... spirits of people who had died with unfinished business. Ifetaya had told him what strange objects to gather, and she’d made him a gri-gri: a tool for speaking with ghosts. And it had been eerie, and strangely rewarding, to talk to them, find out their stories. Because he got the sense that most of the time when a ghost appeared to a living person, the living person at worst would run away, but at best would simply not understand them. There was something nice about feeling like he could do that for them, at least: listen to their story, and understand it. Witness it.

And he *had* been able to find Patrick’s lost love’s crypt in the catacombs. Shawn had already been thinking about what to do to help him find peace: Patrick had only wanted to give his love a rose to show his love for her. Their story was in lots of places around the castle. Shawn was pretty sure he could help them. And there might be others, too, that he could help.

But this idea that maybe he could speak with his own father’s ghost... he didn’t know if it was possible. But to meet the father he’d never known? To ask him a question or two? Ifetaya had warned him that speaking with the dead could drain your life essence, at least a little bit. And he did feel that, when he talked with Patrick’s ghost, and with the others. Just a little pull, a little coldness. As Shawn thought about it, it was just a shade of what the Wraith had felt like. He shuddered. Joel was basically entirely recovered from his experience in the catacombs, but Shawn could tell that he could still be a little jumpy. It was surprisingly gratifying to feel like Shawn could help soothe him. And he could tell that even that was getting better with time.

Still. Even if it did drain a little of his life... Shawn decided it would be worth it if he could speak to his father.

Ifetaya was at first stern; questioning why he’d want to trouble a ghost that had successfully given up its hold on the waking world and had gone to the Shadow Lands. But when Shawn said his father died when he was little, Ifetaya smiled and said that maybe his father’s ghost would actually want to speak with him. Shawn was pleased, actually, at her reaction. After all, she knew Shawn pretty well by now. So it felt good that she supported this particular need of his. A need he hadn’t really realized he’d had... but especially after seeing his father’s memorial in the catacombs, finding out that he’d been the Raven of Sardonia... hearing the rumors that he’d given up being king of Thieves, and that he might have been murdered... yes. Shawn did want to speak with his father, if he could.

When Ifetaya described what he had to do... Shawn was a little nervous. But still determined. He gathered food, he went to the memorial... he called his father by name, ate a piece of one of the cook’s delicious apple tarts, and shared some with Donal... and then steeled himself to cut a finger with his dagger and spill some blood on... what item could he use, of his father’s? He didn’t have anything from his father to use! Why hadn’t he thought about that until now! His finger was starting to smart, and he looked around the memorial wildly, hoping maybe something here had belonged to his father... and his gaze settled on a shamrock design to the right of the portrait of Donal and his brother, Shamus.

The lucky coin! That must have belonged to his father! Suddenly Shawn felt certain. He dug the coin out of his belt pouch with his unimpaired hand, and then gripped the coin with the finger that was still oozing blood.

“Donal O’Conner, I call to you!” Shawn said. And then: there he was. A ghostly form, similar in appearance to the Donal in the painting. Shawn had thought to himself that he saw the resemblance between his father and himself... and it was even stronger seeing his father’s ghost, though he was only an apparition, floating there in the cold, dry air of the catacombs. Shawn could feel the connection between them, and at first that felt reassuring. Though after a few moments, he realized he could also feel the drain of life force that maintained that connection. This was definitely harder on him than when he spoke with a ghost who had already remained in the land of the living, like Patrick.

And as Shawn gazed at his father’s ghostly form, he felt equal mixes of anger, sadness, and joy. Why had his father left him and Mama all alone, poor as hell, especially now that Shawn knew Donal had been the Raven of Sardonia? But Shawn was also sad never to have known this man... and happy to have the chance to meet him now.

The first thing Donal said to Shawn was that he had his mother’s eyes. Shawn had heard people say that before. And then... Shawn just asked his father everything he wanted to know. 

Donal told him that yes, he had been king of Thieves in Sardonia. Yes, he’d been wealthy. That the former Raven had been a terrible tyrant, and Donal had taken the title from the man by force, by cleverness. Donal had tried not to be a tyrant, but Nora had always said she would rather be poor than give other people grief, even rich people who maybe deserved it. Shawn’s mother had constantly told Donal not to keep thieving on her account. And then Master von Urwald had visited them, and said the same thing: that an extremely powerful Thieves’ organization only hurt the poor more than the rich, that people were miserable throughout Sardonia. That Donal could make use of his skills and power in better ways.

“All I wanted was to make a good place for you and Nora and Shamus, but it was all going to Hades,” said ghost Donal sadly. “So... I decided that no one should ever have that power again.”

Shawn held his breath. Then he asked the last question burning in his mind: “So... then, were you murdered?”

Donal sighed. “No. Shamus and I argued over me decision to step down as Raven, to do away with the position altogether. And it came to blows, like it often did between us. Only we were near the cliffside, and me foot slipped... and I fell down into the sea.”

Shawn looked down at the wreath adorning Donal’s memorial. The note said, “For Donal, my beloved brother.” From Shamus. Shawn almost felt bad for suspecting his uncle for murdering his father, for entertaining the rumors he'd heard.

Then Shawn looked back up at the ghost of his father. There was so much more he wanted to say, about his own journey from Thief to Rogue, about the life he’d saved, and about how others had saved his own life, about the treasure he’d found and how he and Mama were going to be okay... and he had so many more questions for his father, too... But then he felt suddenly overwhelmingly dizzy.

Shawn clutched at the memorial plinth, one hand on the copy of the Raven statue, one on the plaque. He said to his father, a little sadly, a little desperately, “I... I think I have to stop now.”

Donal looked sad. He said, “I want you to know that I'm so proud of you, Shawn. You're every bit the son I hoped to have. Give me love to Nora for me. Take care of yourself.” And then he was gone.

Shawn felt sick. Sad. And strangely more complete than he had. He got himself up, dusted himself off, wrapped his bloody finger in a bandage, gave the memorial and the space where his father’s ghost had been one final look, and left the room. 

Fester leered at him, as he always did; the grin of someone who was beyond all harm, and willing to press any advantage. Fester’s skeleton guards tracked Shawn’s movements expressionlessly. Shawn made his way unsteadily out of the room and into the catacombs, barely managed to sneak his way back to the Sea Caves, and then back into the castle. He threw himself onto his bed, didn’t even bother to dress in his nightclothes, and fell into a dreamless sleep, hard.


	12. Chapter 12

The next day, Shawn felt utterly hung over. He made it through class, trying not to think about the enormity of everything he’d learned the previous night. And as he left the classroom and spied Joel standing in his usual spot, Shawn felt a rush of relief and pleasure. Joel would be willing to distract him. In a very... alive way.

Shawn started out asking idle social questions, but became increasingly unable to focus on Joel’s answers – and for an entirely different reason than he’d had trouble focusing in class (which had been because of the previous evening’s activities). What was it? Had Joel done something different with his hair? And he smelled great -- some sort of new perfume? Well, whatever it was, Shawn realized he had little interest in simple banter. He darted a quick look up and down the hall, and stepped close as Joel was finishing his sentence about rumors of secret passageways he hadn't yet explored, and said, "How about we practice some of our Disbarred Bards skills and sneak off someplace together?" 

"I know just the place for us." Joel's smirk was irresistible. Shawn smirked back and gestured mock-gallantly for Joel to lead on. Joel chuckled a little, and turned to pack up his shop. It wouldn't do to leave all his wares unattended.

Joel hadn't missed a beat in his answer; Shawn thought Joel must have been thinking of possible locations for trysts for some time now, or else just knew the castle's layout that well. Probably both. Shawn did have to admit to himself that their evening and night spent together had been really nice, and he'd been looking for some way to repeat it, but there hadn't been breaks where one or the other of their roommates were gone, and privacy was a bit of an odd creature in this place. There were always large expanses of time and space where you were alone, but you still never knew when someone else might show up in the common areas... and given that several of them were consummate prowlers, even when you were in places that seemed unlikely, you might have another Disbarred Bard suddenly turn up. But apparently Shawn hadn't been the only one trying to think of places he and Joel could sneak off to.

Joel was also extremely quick in breaking down the shop and packing up his wares. Shawn hadn't been paying attention, but it was like the whole thing was gone in minutes. Where had he even put some of the things? Like the shelves, for instance? Shawn didn't have time to think about it further, though, because then Joel was off down the hallway towards the practice room, turning back to beckon him with a crook of a finger.

Not that Shawn hadn't snuck around the castle and other underground environs extensively, but this was somehow more exciting than usual. He met Joel's teasing look and smirked at him, following.

They went into the practice room, and Joel pressed a panel behind the dumbbell rack which opened a piece of wall Shawn had never noticed looked unusual before.

He stepped inside, and Shawn followed. He expected Joel to produce a light of some kind, but he didn't. Instead, he took Shawn by the vest and pulled him close, into the passageway, pressed some other panel out of sight, and the wall slid shut, putting them in complete darkness.

Shawn said, a little teasingly, a little doubtfully, "This isn't quite what I was expecting," but Joel laughed low in his throat. "Don't worry -- this isn't our final destination." Shawn felt Joel slide a hand up his chest to stroke his neck briefly, and then slip it down Shawn's arm to take his hand a little tentatively. Shawn tried to ignore the things those sensations did to him and to focus on what Joel said next, but it was difficult. This would make sneaking a whole lot harder than usual, he thought.

Joel continued, "I haven't been down this way in quite some time... this part works better in the dark, so we don't attract any attention, and then there will be some light up ahead."

Shawn said, "All right." Joel led off, along what was apparently a small passageway.

In the dark, it was apparent just how silent they both were. For all the sneaking around the place Shawn had done, he'd never snuck around together with any of his fellow Disbarred Bards. They must all be pretty effective at sneaking at this point, but Shawn also knew that Joel had been doing this for most of his life, so it stood to reason that he'd be even better at it. Shawn found that he could stay just as silent as Joel, but was surprised at how fast Joel could move; Shawn could barely keep up and stay that quiet.

It was also awkward to be silent and careful when holding Joel's hand, because a few times Joel changed directions unexpectedly and it was difficult not to stumble. Also there were moments where a strange sound startled Joel and he gripped Shawn's hand tightly, and that was distracting. So, it was clear that though Joel was doing a lot better than before, he still wasn't totally recovered from his ordeal with the Wraith. He had been telling Shawn he was still having nightmares every night. Shawn was actually pretty surprised that Joel was all right with being in the dark like this, if he was that jumpy. Maybe it was the company, Shawn thought self-indulgently. Maybe it was nice, after all, to be a Hero, to someone at least.

And... there was the excitement, in the background, of the sneaking away together itself. Whatever scent Joel was wearing was now a prime sensation as they paused periodically in the dark, pressed against each other, while they waited for some creature to pass by. In those moments, it was extremely difficult not to want to lean in for a kiss, or to maybe let a free hand go wandering.

But eventually, the corridor did get lighter, and they emerged into an old set of store-rooms. Shawn was impressed. He figured by the amount of time they'd been gone -- maybe 15 minutes already? that they were not under Castle Luminar anymore, and were someplace under the city.

Joel let go of his hand and appeared to be doing some figuring in his head. He walked towards a store-room door, and carefully disarmed an extremely difficult trap (harder than any Shawn had yet seen) so quickly that it must have been his own trap. Joel confirmed that suspicion by unlocking the door with a key he produced from his jacket, and then opened the door, gesturing for Shawn to enter.

Shawn looked a question at him as he passed, but Joel just shook his head, and then as Shawn stepped into the room, he realized that whatever questions he'd had were basically answered upon seeing the room's contents.

It was a store-room, all right. This was clearly where Joel kept his back-up wares. There were a handful of heavy chests with elaborate locks and traps on them (a trained eye would note), but mostly shelves with common items that were less valuable. And in the corner, a desk, chair, and filing cabinet, and to the left of that, a little bed.

Joel took off his jacket and folded it carefully over the back of his desk chair. Shawn, who had been dressed for class, took off his school vest, tie, and jacket, and, feeling somewhat self-conscious, folded it the best he could and set it on the desk.

Joel came to him and slid a hand up Shawn's arm, stroking Shawn’s neck as he'd done before. Shawn shivered with the pleasure of the simple sensation. No one else he'd been with had seemed to have this kind of instinct for foreplay. He carefully pulled Joel against him, feeling for any sign of hesitation or reluctance, but of course there was none. Joel was pliant, as he had been before, and extremely responsive, leaning into him willingly. As he slid his other hand up Shawn's chest and then down his upper arm, Joel smiled and squeezed lightly.

Shawn grinned and said, "You like? I *have* been working out." Joel's smile widened and said, "Yes, very much." Then he leaned in and kissed Shawn, softly at first, but then a bit harder, and when Shawn responded in kind, the kissing became increasingly urgent.

So urgent, in fact, that Joel shoved him a little into the desk and knocked a carefully-stacked pile of papers onto the floor. Shawn broke out of the kiss and said, "Oops... sorry," but before he could say or do anything else, Joel said, "I'll clean it up later," and dragged him towards the bed.

They didn't make it to the bed before their lips and bodies met again, though, and this time Shawn shoved Joel into a nearby shelf, knocking some things on the floor.

After a quick glance to be sure nothing had broken, Joel turned back and chuckled, murmuring to him, "See, this is just another way you're bad for business."

Shawn laughed and began unbuttoning Joel's shirt (carefully, as it was clearly much nicer than anything he owned himself).

"Oh..." Joel said, as Shawn successfully undid the last button and slid his hands inside, "Oh, not that I mind..." Shawn began kissing Joel's neck, and almost didn't notice as deft fingers undid the buttons of his own nicest shirt, and before he knew it, he was somehow laying on his back on the bed, with Joel on top of him, and both of them were wearing quite a bit fewer items of clothing than they had been only moments before.

In fact, he quite lost track of time and space at that point, and when his senses returned to normal, the two of them were laying together, much like they had that first night, with Joel's head on his chest and arm around his waist, and Shawn's arms wrapped around Joel. The only difference was the state of undress.

"Mmmmm," Joel murmured, stretching fingers along Shawn's side. Even in the aftermath, it felt crazy good. Shawn shivered. Joel laughed a little.

Shawn answered with a chuckle of his own. He reached across with the opposite arm and twined his fingers into Joel's and said, "Your fingers sure are nimble... you've completely disarmed me."

Joel sighed and said, "Ah, but Shawn, you were never a trap." Then, considering, he said, "Though I wasn't sure, when I first met you. We all have our reasons for coming to this place, learning how to find secret ways and win treasure that others couldn't hope to. You seemed to be, well, too good to be true, in some ways."

Shawn laughed at that. "See, shows what you know. I'm just as ruthless as anyone here."

"Bull," Joel said, "If you'll pardon the vernacular." He sat up slightly, leaning on an elbow, and looked down at Shawn. "You're nearly a Paladin, with how you carry on helping everyone." Left half-said: for example, saving my life.

Shawn laughed again. "Well, not that I'm complaining, but I'm sure that's not quite true. For starters, I *do* flirt with everyone. That's not very Paladin-like, now is it?"

Joel smirked slyly down at him. "Yes, that you do. You are incredibly unsubtle at it, too." 

Shawn laughed, but then he said, "But... you know, I don't do this with anyone else."

Joel's expression shifted from sly to surprised. "Really? With how much you flirt with everyone, I had thought..."

Shawn shook his head. "No, just you, Joel."

Joel looked away and shivered a little in the cold air of the store-room. Shawn shifted a bit, tugging a blanket out from under his shoulder, and drew it across the two of them, pulling Joel back down against him.

"That's better," Shawn said. Joel sighed and settled in for a moment, but then murmured to him, "We really ought to get back to the castle. People will eventually wonder where we are. And I was hoping to sell a few items to Thomas and Katie, and they'll be by just before dinner."

Shawn said, "All right." He was a bit unsure what had made Joel suddenly want to head back, but he didn't mind. Though this had been extremely worthwhile, there *were* definitely other things that needed doing.

They each got dressed, and Joel did a little tidying of a variety of shelves that they'd apparently bumped into on their way to the bed. Shawn didn't remember most of that. He tried to help, but mostly got in the way. Eventually everything was put to rights, and Joel got the room all locked down again. Shawn noticed that Joel managed to obscure the combination for the trap, and that he couldn't follow which of Joel's pockets the key to the door's lock went in. And... frankly, he wasn't sure he could find this place again, anyway, because of all that time in the dark, with a number of turns he couldn't remember. He again admired Joel's cunning and skill. He was sharing his secrets, but in a way that didn't really leave an opening to be taken advantage of. Not that Shawn was planning to.

Then they made their way back to the castle, silently, still holding hands. Eventually they stood in front of Joel's usual spot by the classroom, and he began setting everything from his shop up again. Shawn took another look around the hallway as Joel finished setting up, and leaned in to kiss him on the neck one more time. "We should do that again soon," he murmured.

Joel chuckled slyly, catching Shawn's hand as he pulled away, kissing the tender skin between forefinger and middle finger. "As often as possible," he returned.

Shawn tried to ignore the entirely new round of arousal this brought on, cleared his throat, grinned at Joel as he let go of Shawn's hand, and tried to walk off confidently down the hallway to the training room to burn off some of the additional energy he now found himself coping with. And, as the fuzzy warm feelings of their little tryst faded, Shawn realized that all the questions and implications he was avoiding regarding his father were still there. Yes, exercise was a good idea. One needed to be able to focus, after all, if one was going to be an effective Rogue.


	13. Chapter 13

That night, Shawn found himself wandering aimlessly through the castle, greeting ghosts, still trying to come to terms with what he’d just learned about his father. The dalliance earlier in the day after class with Joel had distracted him well enough, but now that it was night, and the ghosts were out again... he couldn’t keep his mind from coming back to what he’d learned. And... coming to terms with what it was like to meet his father. What it had meant to him. Shawn’s thoughts sort of stewed away as he went from one part of the castle to the other, not really resolving into anything coherent... but he thought maybe it was helping to come at all this sort of sideways. The way a Rogue might sneak up on something carefully.

In his wanderings, Shawn almost habitually picked the lock to the infirmary, thinking he’d wander up to the garden to get some fresh air. But as he passed through the landing in the Darla Wing, he heard someone speaking softly. He listened for a moment, and thought that maybe it was Thomas. Strange, Shawn thought.

He hadn’t been able to learn anything about Thomas’s secrets, he realized. Part of it was being busy with classwork, training, and exploring the castle and its underground environs. Part of it was being distracted with Joel. And part of it, he admitted to himself, was that he’d been leaning more and more towards Rogue and away from Thief. And when he’d first thought that he ought to collect information on everyone, that had been more of a Thief kind of idea. Now, he realized, he was less interested in doing something that could hurt Thomas. He was quite fond of Thomas, actually. Thomas was sweet, quiet, serious... very focused on becoming the best Hero he could, even if it was as a Rogue instead of a Paladin. Shawn had managed to draw Thomas out a little more, over the months they’d been classmates. And he liked what Thomas had been willing to show him.

So Shawn hesitated, on the landing. Trying to decide if he ought to sneak in, see if he could figure out Thomas’s secret, or if that would be dishonorable. But then he thought to himself, even though Thomas had become more comfortable with his situation in the Disbarred Bards class, he still often seemed unhappy. And he definitely didn’t talk about whatever was bothering him. Sometimes, with a friend, Shawn thought, you have to sneak around to find out what’s wrong, and in order to know how to help them. Surely that was more Rogue and less Thief?

Shawn hesitated a moment longer, and then decided to do it. He crept along the side of the room, hiding behind a statue, peeking around, confirming that it was in fact Thomas. Creeping closer until he could hear what Thomas was saying.

“Father, I know I’m not the Hero you were. I’m trying so hard to make you proud. I... I have to speak with you. I’m going to come speak with you. I learned what I need to do, and I’m going to do it.”

Shawn started; first of all, he knew Thomas was related to Kendrick Thompson, the beloved Paladin who had died saving Sardonia. But had Shawn known that Kendrick was Thomas’s father? And it wasn’t lost on Shawn that Thomas was about to do what Shawn had just done: go and find his father’s place of rest, and try to speak to his ghost. The thing that really caught him, though, was that Shawn realized that he knew where Thomas’s father was buried: Kendrick was the Paladin whose memorial Shawn had seen on his way to try to find Joel. And the catacombs... well, even with the Wraith gone, they were still extremely dangerous...

Shawn must have let out a little startled sound as these thoughts had occurred to him, because he saw Thomas frown, stand up, and look around. Before Shawn could try to sneak away, Thomas had seen him behind the statue. That was the difficulty, he thought, with trying to sneak up on other Rogues.

“Shawn.” Thomas looked at him seriously, as Shawn stepped around the statue to face his friend. Shawn said, “I’m sorry, I had just been practicing my sneaking, and heard you in here, and you sounded so unhappy...” It was true, after all.

Thomas’s look seemed mixed, like maybe he appreciated that Shawn cared, but even that appreciation was somehow problematic. He seemed to take the sneaking as a given, though. “How much did you hear?” Thomas asked him.

Shawn sighed. He said, “I just caught that you are planning to speak to Kendrick.” Thomas nodded slowly.

“Only the thing is...” Shawn went on, “Kendrick’s final resting place is in the catacombs. Deep in the catacombs. *Really* deep in the catacombs.”

Thomas’s features firmed up into a look of determination. “I know. I have mapped out a route from outside the castle that is more direct than coming from the Sea Caves. It should be less dangerous, and I will be very careful.”

Surprised, Shawn said, “Okay. I trust you to be careful, but...” he wasn’t sure what exactly was bothering him, here. Thomas had set himself a quest, and Thomas was methodical so if he had found a less dangerous way to get to Kendrick’s tomb, then it probably would be a lot safer than Shawn’s usual route in there. But... something about the deep unhappiness in Thomas’s manner... it just made Shawn want to help him, somehow.

So he said, “Thomas, just let me know if there’s... anything I can do.”

Thomas studied him for a moment. Then he seemed to make some sort of difficult decision. He said, “Actually, Shawn... If you would like to help me... then it would be great if you joined me at Kendrick’s tomb. It’s... going to be hard to do what I need to do there, and... it would be nice to have a friend with me.”

Shawn was a little surprised that Thomas would think of him this way. Thomas had always been so stand-offish when Shawn flirted, tried to give him gifts, or complimented him. Sometimes Shawn found things that would actually bring out a smile or a rejoinder, but the idea that Thomas would actually want him along for something that was clearly this important to him... it was a little surprising, and quite gratifying. So Shawn nodded, and said, “Of course, I’m happy to be there with you. Just let me know when.”

Thomas smiled, just a little. He said, “I’ll be leaving in just a few hours, I think. I’ll meet you at his tomb around, say, eleven?” Shawn nodded. That gave him time to pick up a few things. Like maybe a few extra healing potions, in case something went wrong. It wasn’t lost on him that they’d been necessary in rescuing Joel. Thomas, of course, was much more conservative and careful than Joel was, and he wasn’t being pressured to do dangerous things by Sosi. But still. Couldn’t hurt to be extra prepared, and Shawn could always find a use for healing potions.


	14. Chapter 14

Later that night, Shawn snuck through the catacombs, for some reason more nervous than usual. It had been weeks since Joel’s rescue, and Shawn’s stealth, and skill with daggers and runes, were both much improved since then. He was a pretty good match for anything he’d found in the catacombs, so far anyway; there were still some parts he hadn’t explored yet. Fortunately Kendrick’s tomb was along the path Shawn already knew. He still had to work hard if he was beset by too many creatures at once, but strategic movement through the rooms he was familiar with meant he could usually avoid that.

No, the nervousness had nothing to do with the catacombs. It was all about Thomas. Just what did Thomas want with Kendrick? Was Shawn about to find out what it was that made Thomas so unhappy all the time, so quiet and withdrawn? Or was Thomas just nervous about the physical exertion that went with speaking to the dead, especially when you had to make the sacrifice to bring them over from the other side to speak with them? Shawn knew it had taken more out of him than he’d expected, when he’d spoken to his father. And it was certainly true that deep in the catacombs was no place to pass out, to be weakened. And Thomas knew Shawn knew his way around the place. Everyone knew about him rescuing Joel.

Fortunately it wasn’t long before Shawn found himself standing in front of the door to Kendrick’s tomb. He took a deep breath, and went in.

Almost immediately there was the feeling of peace and protection associated with the place. It had been a good place to rest when he needed to recover from fighting undead horrors on his way through the catacombs. Shawn wasn’t sure if it was just Kendrick’s presence that made the place so healing, or if it was due to actual spells placed on the tomb and its environs. But either way, it was a soothing feeling, as he walked in and found Thomas already at the tomb, kneeling and making ready to do the ritual.

Shawn stepped up behind him. Thomas looked up at him, nodded once, and then looked extremely nervous himself. 

He said to Shawn, “Please promise me... no matter what you see, no matter what you hear, you won’t say anything.” Shawn nodded, still a little unsure what he was agreeing to. “I promise,” he said.

Thomas nodded back at him, took a deep breath, and turned back to the sarcophagus. Thomas was more eloquent in how he spoke the words; Shawn felt a little sheepish, remembering the halting way he'd called to his own father only yesterday. But watching Thomas make the blood sacrifice to bring his father back was actually much harder than Shawn had anticipated, even though he’d done it himself. Maybe *because* he’d done it himself and knew what it felt like. It was wrenching to see the look of pain and fear on Thomas’ face as the life force ebbed out of him a little to reach across the threshold of death.

But then Kendrick appeared, looking much like he did in his portrait in the Darla Wing. And Shawn saw a kind of troubled joy in Thomas’s face as he gazed at the ghost of his father. Shawn didn’t have much time to reflect on that, though, because Kendrick’s first words were an utter shocker.

“Janet?” Kendrick said, the lost wail of a ghost, only the echo of a mighty Paladin, “Janet, is that you?”

“Yes, Papa,” Thomas said, darting the barest of glances in Shawn’s direction. “Yes, it’s me.” Was Thomas’s voice a little higher, more musical, than Shawn was used to? Not by much, he thought, but the difference was there.

Shawn did his best to stay silent as Thomas tried to explain himself to his father. As Thomas told Kendrick about running away from home because his mother insisted on marrying him off after his father’s death, Shawn put the pieces together. The little tells that there had been that this was Thomas’s secret – though there were few enough of those. The realization that this is what Thomas must have lied about on his application (which Shawn knew because he’d picked the lock to Terk’s office and read all the student files). And therefore why he was in the Disbarred Bards class instead of the Paladin class.

Thomas said that all he wanted to do was be a Hero, a Paladin like his father. Shawn utterly believed that, and suddenly Thomas’s constant unhappiness made so much more sense, when you knew all this about him. What he'd had to do, in order to follow his dream.

And then Kendrick said gravely to Thomas that it was wrong to have run away from home, to have worried his mother like that, to have lied on his application to Hero-U. Shawn got upset on Thomas' behalf. This was Kendrick Thompson, unimpeachable Paladin? Surely he could see how pained Thomas was, how much he sought his father’s approval and guidance – to the point of crossing the barrier between death and living? How much it hurt him for Kendrick to say this to him, now, after all that?

Shawn couldn’t keep quiet. The shame in Thomas’s eyes was too much for him. Maybe he should have let Thomas stand up for himself, but he just couldn’t stop himself from telling Kendrick’s ghost that Thomas was his own kind of Hero. That he fought for Good in all sorts of ways... that those ways were just... different from his father’s.

Thomas looked over at him, and Shawn was gratified to see that he seemed to appreciate Shawn’s intervention. Thomas seemed to believe him, and Shawn’s statements seemed to bolster Thomas’s confidence. Thomas *had* been working hard to adjust to being a Rogue, and he was doing an excellent job of being a Hero in that vein. Not a Thief, as Shawn had thought to be when he’d begun at Hero-U. And right now, standing by his friend's side as Thomas faced his father the Paladin, his ideal, his standard for himself – right now, Shawn was extremely proud to stand with Thomas as a Rogue. As a Hero. It surprised him, just a little, how good it felt.

Kendrick responded that he knew that Thomas would face his life’s journey with honor and courage, and that he was proud of him. And then he disappeared. Well, Shawn thought, that had been a bit of a mixed bag, but he had found that ghosts tended to be cryptic sometimes. After all, they were out of their element visiting the living world, especially those like Kendrick or his own father, Donal... they had actually moved on and were being called back. 

But, regardless, as Shawn glanced over at Thomas, he saw an exhausted look mixed with something he’d never seen in Thomas’s face before: peace. A kind of relief. Thomas looked at Shawn, and as their eyes met the look shifted to a kind of open gratitude that Shawn hadn’t expected. 

There was something new in Thomas’s voice (now lower again, Shawn noted), as he said, “Thank you for being here with me. And thank you... for what you said.”

Shawn nodded and responded: “Of course. I just said what I know is true.” Thomas nodded and smiled. Shawn opened his mouth to try to ask one of any number of questions that were crowding his mind, but Thomas raised a hand and said, “We can talk more about this later. I am extremely tired, now. I need to go to bed.” Shawn shut his mouth again and nodded ruefully. It *was* extremely late, and though Shawn hadn’t even been the one to call forth a ghost, he was pretty exhausted himself. And, in the end, it had been a long day.

So Thomas stood, gathered his things, and the two of them left the tomb. As their ways diverged – Shawn headed back through the main part of the catacombs, and Thomas back out the easier exit to return to Hero-U through more conventional entrances – they both paused for a moment. No further words were exchanged, but as Thomas held Shawn’s gaze before turning away, Shawn was fully struck by what Thomas had just shared with him, what he was trusting Shawn with. It might not be his life, as with Joel, but Joel also hadn’t had a choice. Thomas had chosen for Shawn to be with him on this, even knowing what Shawn would learn. So that little smile that played around Thomas’s lips meant far more to Shawn than he could fully articulate to himself. 

He would find himself thinking about that quite a lot in the weeks to come.


	15. Chapter 15

Aeolus was gone for a field trip about a month later, so Shawn took the opportunity to invite Joel to spend the night with him. Joel brought his own wine to share this time, and a lovely silk bathrobe which he changed into as the evening progressed.

"You don't wear that in front of Sosi, do you?" Shawn asked teasingly.

Joel snorted. "No."

"Well, good," Shawn said, feeling the smooth fabric slip between his fingers. He wondered how much it had cost, and how much it was worth. He hazarded that Joel hadn't paid its full worth.

They were silent, Joel sipping wine, Shawn stroking his arm through the bathrobe, a little absently.

Then Joel said, "I've noticed... you've been spending a lot of time with Herr Kent, lately."

Shaw was a little startled by the question, but he had been meeting to chat with Thomas a little bit about the whole thing in the catacombs, a few times in the intervening weeks since Thomas had spoken with Kendrick and shared his secrets with Shawn. 

It wasn’t even that Shawn was curious about Thomas’ gender identity, though he was interested in that, of course... it was more that Shawn was still sorting through what he had learned about his own father, Donal, and about how Fester had called him the ‘heir apparent’ when they’d first met. Shawn was still plagued by the thought that he could have been king of Thieves someday... that his father had thrown that all away – and then died, leaving Shawn and Nora with nothing, left to fend for themselves. And maybe Shawn would have been angry when he’d learned all this, if he hadn’t already been at Hero-U for long enough listening to Master von Urwald, if he hadn’t already experienced the difference between aspiring to be a Thief and training to be a Rogue. Now he found it hard to blame his father for his choice.

And talking to Thomas about it all really helped Shawn sort it out. Thomas had his own sense to make of how Kendrick had responded to him explaining what he’d done, and how he was finding his own way of being a Hero, of living up to Kendrick’s legacy. And while Shawn had told Joel about Donal and the Raven statue, because Joel himself was on a search for the statue, it hadn’t felt the same. Joel was living up to his father’s dream by trying to find the Raven... but that wasn’t quite the same thing as trying to live up to a father’s idea of honor, and the consequences of their choices around that honor and service to Good... because that had cost both Donal and Kendrick their lives, in different ways. And had left both Shawn and Thomas dealing with those consequences, and trying to figure their own way through their lives, their own way to define honor. Talking to Thomas about it helped Shawn a lot in thinking through these things.

But he didn’t say any of that to Joel. Just: "Y-yes, I... I helped him with something he wanted to do in the catacombs." 

Joel nodded, looked down pensively into his wine glass. "Of course, I can't but approve of getting assistance in such a dangerous location. And Thomas always seems so... uncertain. The catacombs are not a place that is forgiving of uncertainty."

Shawn thought about that. What Thomas had aimed to do in the catacombs, he had been extremely certain of, and prudent about. Shawn said, "He's really more confident than you might think. I think he just doesn't know how to talk to us, how to socialize. He has a lot that he's sorting out for himself."

Joel looked at him with a raised eyebrow and said, "And we return to my initial observation."

Now Shawn felt a little defensive. "Yes, I have been spending a lot of time with him recently. Is that a problem?"

Joel smirked. "No, it's not. I just have to admit to some curiosity. He can be quite enigmatic."

Shawn felt suddenly a bit nervous. He definitely wasn't about to reveal Thomas' secret to Joel, or anyone else. That was for Thomas to decide who could know about his story and the things he was hiding. Shawn was honored that Thomas had confided in him in the first place.

Shawn shifted in the bed, scooching out from under Joel in order to go change into his pyjamas. He felt a little self-conscious, not because he was changing in front of Joel (which was a frequent enough occurrence at this point), but because his pyjamas were worn old flannel things which were starting to get holes in them. But as it was getting later and he was getting progressively sleepier, he didn't want to wear his leather clothes anymore. They were excellent defense against monsters, but they were pretty tight. Which meant that they were fun for a while when fooling around, but not great for relaxing in bed.

Joel wolf-whistled at him as he peeled off the leather jacket and vest. "You really do look fantastic in those." 

Shawn smirked at him and said, "Thanks." Joel added, eyebrow arched, "Though you look even better out of them." Shawn shot him a suggestive look, and put on his pyjamas. Well, they were comfortable, at least, he thought, even if they weren't much to look at. He picked up his wineglass again and settled back into the bed.

Joel looked at him expectantly. Of course he hadn't forgotten the previous topic. Shawn sighed and said, "Look, you wouldn't want me telling other people about your secret store-room, or even the secret door in the practice room, would you?"

Joel looked appropriately chastized. "Well, it can never hurt to ask for information. You never know what you might hear. I haven't got this far in life from not asking."

Shawn nodded, satisfied, and shifted around to get his free arm around Joel.

Joel sipped at his wine and looked contemplative. "He is an attractive fellow, if you don't count the silly moustache." Shawn was a little startled, but said, "Yes, I'd say so too."

Joel chuckled and looked over at Shawn. "He's really not my type, though." The look in his eyes implied that Shawn was. Which, of course, he already knew.

Shawn chuckled back at him and said, "That's just as well, then..." and leaned over for a kiss. 

They were both tired from a long week, and they'd already fooled around quite a bit earlier in the evening, so not much came of this particular kiss, but a little wine got spilled in the process anyway. Thankfully not on Joel's fancy bathrobe.

"Damn," said Shawn, wiping at his pyjama pants. "I'll be right back," and stepped out in the hall to the gentlemen's bathroom to rinse them under the faucet for a few minutes.

When he came back, Joel was partly asleep, turned on his side. He twitched a little, made an unhappy face, and Shawn sighed, stepping close and bending down to softly stroke Joel's arm.

Joel woke, startled a little, and then the fear in his eyes melted away instantly to relief when he remembered where he was and with whom.

Shawn wondered how long this would persist for him -- it had been months since the rescue. But he drew back the covers, and they slid inside, Shawn spooning Joel, with an arm around him protectively.

Joel murmured into the pillow. "Thank you."

Shawn murmured back, "You're welcome."

Joel took a deep breath and said, "You know... if you were interested in Thomas..." He trailed off. Even though he didn’t finish the sentence, it was clear enough to Shawn what Joel meant by ‘interested.’

Shawn wasn't sure what had got into Joel, but he also wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't deny that when Thomas opened up to him, it felt completely different than it did with Joel. The sort of resonance Shawn felt with Thomas when they shared about their relationships with their fathers… it just touched a different part of him. Shawn hadn’t honestly thought about whether he was romantically interested in Thomas. Except... now that Joel put it that way... maybe he *was* interested in Thomas. He'd flirted just as hard with Herr Kent as he had with anyone else since the beginning of the school term, and Thomas had never reciprocated... though Shawn hadn't tried flirting with him since the Nights of the Dead. He flushed a little at the idea of flirting with Thomas now, and finding out whether there was any potential there... But Shawn stopped himself from mentally heading down that path. He wasn't about to betray either Thomas or Joel.

Joel sighed and turned to face Shawn, "If you were interested in him... it would be fine with me." Shawn started to object -- he didn't want to lose what they had together -- but Joel went on, "As long as you told me it was happening, and as long as we could still, at least sometimes, continue our... activities."

Shawn was surprised at this, but said, "Thank you... that's... uncharacteristically generous of you, to share me."

Joel smirked at him. "Well, you're quite the hot commodity. I doubt I could have monopolized you for long." Shawn laughed, not quite sure how to respond. He didn't know what was going to come of his growing relationship with Thomas, but it was possible that it could indeed head in a direction that would have eventually caused a problem if Joel were the jealous type. Who knew if Thomas would be open to this kind of arrangement, either... he was a little more conservative than any of their classmates. And who knew if Thomas was even interested in Shawn romantically in the first place! But at least Shawn didn't have to worry about Joel.

"Well, I think you'll still be happy with your share of the investment, one way or another," Shawn eventually came up with. Joel chuckled sleepily, and snuggled into him. Shawn turned out the light and they went to sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

Shawn felt uncharacteristically nervous as he and Thomas climbed the stairs to the garden above the Darla wing. 

A few days after Joel had told him to pursue Herr Kent if he wanted to, Shawn had finally had an opportunity to spend time alone with Thomas again. They’d just been chatting after class in the Lock Room, talking a little more about Kendrick’s definition of Good and how it related to learning to pick locks, thinking of situations in which picking a lock was the right thing to do... and Thomas had paused, and got very focused on the lock he was working on, and all of a sudden succeeded in getting it open (he’d been working hard at that one for a few days now). He’d looked up at Shawn, delight plain in his face, and Shawn had just said what came to mind: “You look so great when you’re happy, Thomas – your eyes light up and your smile is so beautiful.” Thomas had flushed and looked down, and said thanks. Though he seemed awkward, when he looked Shawn in the eyes again, Shawn saw an unmistakable interest there that he hadn’t seen before. Thomas said, “You, too. When you’re sad... I find it hard to feel happy.” And the way he said it... Shawn felt like maybe Thomas had wanted to say things like this before, but only now that Shawn knew his secrets did Thomas feel like it was all right to show this kind of interest in him.

So Shawn had said, “Well, it would make me very happy to spend some more time alone with you... how is tonight? After curfew?” Thomas had nodded eagerly. They'd met later that night at Kendrick’s plaque, and then Shawn had suggested they adjourn upstairs, because it was a nice night and the garden should be lovely. He'd suggested it out of his usual flirtatious instinct, which seemed to be going well with Thomas for a change, but then suddenly when Thomas gave him one of his tentative little smiles and said he'd like that, Shawn had felt like he wasn't sure what he was getting into. With Joel, it had been quite clear where things were going, nearly from the outset. With Thomas, there was just so much more that was unknown.

At any rate, after Thomas had left the fresh flowers he’d brought for his father, and as they made their way upstairs, Shawn distracted himself from this unfamiliar nervousness by thinking a bit about Paladins. He was glad for Thomas that there was such a nice and easy place to come to for honoring his father; it was pretty hard to get to Kendrick's memorial in the catacombs – not something to do every day. And of course it must benefit more than just Thomas... Shawn had seen other small offerings left here for the famous Paladin. He had been celebrated as saviour of the country, after all. He had died saving Sardonia.

Though of course Thomas had made it clear that his father would never have wanted to have such a fuss made about him. And that matched Shawn's experience of Professor Glenshannon. She hadn't made a fuss about helping to rescue Joel from the wraith, earlier in the term. She'd just done what needed doing to protect people. Shawn'd tried to ask her about it afterwards, but she'd just dismissed it as her job. Shawn could tell that it was more than that, of course. Intense modesty just seemed to go with the territory.

And... that kind of modesty and commitment to Good was Thomas, through and through, he thought, as they reached the garden. That's why he was more of a Paladin, in many ways, than a Rogue. But of course, there was more to him than that. Quite a lot more than any of them had suspected... that was how good a Rogue he was. 

Thomas stopped a few steps out into the garden, face turned to the night sky. Shawn wondered what he was thinking: what could cause such a look of relaxed and genuine pleasure to replace Thomas' usually closed and slightly-sad look. The experience with Kendrick had clearly eased Thomas’ spirit, but he still often looked sad.

Shawn stepped up behind Thomas, who turned to him, that look of openness remaining, though fading slightly, as if the habit of hiding himself was just too hard to break. Though Thomas had been warming up to Shawn, Shawn could tell that he was still guarded. But now Thomas smiled at Shawn and said, "You were right, it's really lovely up here."

Shawn nodded, smiled back a bit lopsidedly. He was trying to come to grips with his own feelings, which were very confused at the moment. He'd never felt this nervous with Joel... but then, maybe that was because after a pretty short time, it was extremely clear where they stood with each other. With Thomas... Shawn was pretty sure Thomas didn't even know where he stood with himself, yet. So how could he know where they stood with each other?

Joel had made it clear to Shawn that he didn't intend to monopolize Shawn's attentions. But how would Thomas feel about that? Was Thomas even interested in him, anyway? Clearly he trusted Shawn, or Thomas never would have asked him to come along to meet his father's ghost in the catacombs, knowing that it meant Shawn would learn his secrets. And he’d responded so readily to Shawn’s suggestion that they come up here tonight, so Shawn thought Thomas was interested, but...

Shawn's inner conflict must have shown, because Thomas' typically worried look crept back into his eyes. "Shawn?" he asked, "Are you all right?" It was genuine concern, too. Shawn laughed, looked down, and said, "Sure. I'm just... still not sure how you want me to treat you."

Thomas looked a little put out, surprisingly so for how mild-mannered he usually was. "What do you mean?"

Shawn wasn't really prepared for this conversation, he realized. But here they were. So he sighed, gestured to one of the cute little benches at the edge of the garden, and they went and sat. Eventually, he took a deep breath, and looked Thomas in the eyes, and said, "Well, for starters, do you want me to call you Thomas or Janet?"

Thomas' face fell. He looked away, fidgeted with his gloves for a minute. Then eventually he said, "I actually don't know for sure. I think... you've only ever known me as Thomas. I... I like who I am when I'm with you. So... I think you should keep calling me Thomas."

Shawn saw how uncomfortable he was, and without thinking, reached over to put a hand on one of Thomas' gloved ones. "Okay. I'm happy to do that. You just tell me what you want, and I'll do it."

Thomas looked back at him, startled, and Shawn quickly took his hand back. He was forward with everyone, sure, but not that forward. "Sorry," he said.

Thomas flushed and said, "No... it's all right. I... I like it when you flirt with me." Shawn laughed nervously a little bit. He said, "Even if I flirt with everyone?"

Thomas chuckled softly. "You do flirt with everyone. But... I like that you think I'm worth flirting with, too, just like Katie or Joel."

Shawn said, genuinely and urgently, "You definitely are!" Thomas smiled, getting a little red in the face again. A little more calmly, Shawn went on, "You've always been so quiet, but...I always thought you were charming, even when I didn't know how devious you were on top of that."

Thomas looked away, smiling. Shawn let that compliment rest for a minute, gazing around the garden, appreciating the smells of the flowers, the sparkle and dance of the stars shining through the fading heat of the city's night. The distant hushed sound of the ocean, far below them. There were days when he wished desperately that he could leave the school and its underground environs -- he'd been trapped here for months, now, when everyone else could leave -- but in this moment, he really couldn't think of any other place he'd rather be.

He glanced back at Thomas, who was looking at him pensively. Eventually Thomas said, tentatively, "I'm not as charming as Joel, though."

Shawn swallowed hard and laughed awkwardly. "Joel's job is to be charming. That's how you get people to buy what you're selling." He added ruefully, "He's gotten me to buy something I hadn't intended to buy, more than once, that way."

Thomas smiled but shook his head. "You know what I mean." Shawn swallowed again and looked away. How could Thomas know? He and Joel had tried to be extremely discreet, and Shawn flirted with everyone pretty equally in public...

Thomas continued: "You're very sneaky, both of you, of course, but... I've spent all this time watching you all so carefully, to make sure you hadn't found out my secret." The bitterness in Thomas' voice revealed just what his hidden identity had cost him.

Shawn forgot some of his own awkwardness out of concern for Thomas' tone. He put his hand on Thomas' again, a little more intentionally than before. "I'm sorry you've had to hide from us like that. But you are just as charming as Joel... just in a completely different way." It was a bit of a change of subject, he realized after the fact. Was he just dodging the question about him and Joel? But Thomas just seemed so sad...

Thomas' eyes lit up at Shawn's words, but he said doubtfully, "Are you just saying that because now you know my secret? Would you have said Thomas Kent was charming, or are you just saying it because now you know I'm really Janet Thompson?"

Shawn squeezed Thomas' hand. "No, I would have said you were charming either way. The only difference is learning what a great Rogue you turn out to be, on top of it."

Thomas smiled and took Shawn's hand in both of his. "Thank you, then," he said.

They sat like that for a few more minutes. Shawn heard an owl hoot, somewhere off in the distance. Eventually, Thomas said, "But what about Joel?"

Shawn sighed. There's no avoiding this, he thought. And I shouldn't be trying. He said, "Joel told me he doesn't mind sharing." Shawn watched Thomas uncertainly, waiting for his reaction. He tried to read the set of emotions that showed themselves, in sequence, in Thomas' eyes: first, confusion. That wasn't what he'd been expecting to hear. Then, maybe it was hope? But then a kind of disapproval, though that was faint and followed quickly with a look of sadness. The sad look seemed to be the one that stayed; and then he looked away. But he didn't let go of Shawn's hand.

Eventually, Thomas said, slowly, "I... don't know how I feel about that." Shawn laughed and said, "Neither do I. But I *can* tell you that you both matter to me, very much, and I'm happy to be with you in whatever way you want me to be." All that was true enough, after all.

Thomas looked back over at him and smiled hesitantly. Shawn smiled back and squeezed Thomas' hand. Thomas' smile strengthened, and he said, "Okay. I guess... I was hoping for something more... traditional?" Then he laughed. "But then, I'm already off the rails on that one. So... we just see how it goes?" Shawn nodded at him.

And then Thomas surprised him by quickly leaning over and kissing him softly on the lips. It was very romantic, up in the garden in the starlight with the sea breeze blowing gently past them. And the conversation had been dancing around this, really, and it actually was clear enough that Thomas was interested, and so was Shawn... but Shawn hadn't expected him to make the first move.

The fake moustache tickled, but Thomas tasted sweet and smelled unadorned and clean. The kiss was brief; he pulled away and as Shawn opened his eyes slowly, he saw Thomas looking at him with that little smile. Not the tentative one, but the one that Shawn realized now said that Thomas had a secret. So. Now he had two secrets.

"Thank you for the evening, Shawn," Thomas said, and stood, bowing slightly to him. "My pleasure," Shawn said, arching an eyebrow and smirking at him, feeling a little bit of his usual confidence returning. Thomas' smile widened and he turned and left the garden.

When Shawn heard with his highly trained Rogue senses that the door had shut in the room downstairs, he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He ran his hands through his hair and then leaned back on the bench to look up at the stars. He wasn't quite ready to go back inside, himself. He had a lot to think about, and the garden at night still felt more like freedom than anything else here at the school. He twisted sideways and laid back along length of the bench, idly tracing constellations with his eyes, and let his mind wander until the wee hours of the night.


	17. Chapter 17

As if Fate somehow knew that Shawn was finally relaxing into a routine again, a large number of Dire rats started boldly coming into the main hallways of the school. These weren’t your average Drat, either... people started taking to calling them “Warrior Drats.” They traveled in packs and Shawn often found himself guzzling healing potions while just trying to get from the school store back to his room. It became clear that this was another threat to the school’s continued function. And while it was both impressive and hilarious to watch Master von Urwald off multiple Warrior Drats as he tried to finish a single sentence in class, the Master made it equally clear that this infestation had to stop immediately.

Thomas had been researching some of the hidden areas of the castle, and shared what he’d found with Shawn. Between what Shawn had heard from Esme, and what Thomas had found, Shawn realized he had a pretty good idea where the Drats were coming from, and why. It had something to do with the Giant Proach, and the way to find the Drat nest and the source of the problems would involve going through the most dangerous part of the castle, which he hadn’t even seen yet: the fabled dungeons. The Librarian was more cryptic than usual about the way to get there; but Shawn could feel the energy in the Library was different, a few days after the Drats had started appearing.

He knew exactly where to look in the Library, too. There had been that painting that he’d never wanted to get too close to... and he thought he’d heard the Librarian say something about an avoidance rune that he’d removed. 

So after dinner on the third night of the Drat infestation, Shawn stood in front of the painting. Now that he could get close to it, he realized it was Mortuai, the Wizard Hero who had fought the terrible evil that Castle Luminar had been built to stop, or contain, or something like that. Shawn remembered reading that story in the enormous book in the library near the beginning of the term... and he also remembered the fact that the school had only been open here for a few months before he’d been forced to join. Which meant they’d just moved into this castle with what amounted to a fairly alarming history...

Mortuai in the painting was intimidating and frankly just creepy. But Shawn found that he could touch the painting now, though it hurt like hell to do it. He thought for a moment... should he do this, all on his own? Should he seek help from his friends? And he thought about the fact that they all worked well individually, particularly when stealth was key. And then he thought to himself that he didn’t want to risk any of their lives on this. He ought to at least give it a try, see what he could see. And if it turned out like it had with Joel, and he found he needed backup, he could always sneak away and get help. And if it turned out to be something he could do himself, then there was no need to risk anyone else’s safety.

So he reached out, despite the intense freezing pain of getting that close to the painting, and pulled on the edge. It swung wide, and there was a passageway behind it. Shawn took a quick look around the library to make sure no one was watching (Thomas had already gone to bed); or rather, that only the Librarian was watching. And actually, the Librarian *wasn’t* even watching. He seemed to want to have some kind of plausible deniability about anyone actually going through this passageway. Oh well. You only live once, right? And Shawn already knew how good it felt to be a hero for his mentors, friends, and lovers. So he went in.

The passageway below was even creepier, and the strange room on the other end contained a mind-boggling surprise: Mortuai himself. He didn’t look much different from his painting; but Shawn tried to quickly figure how old he must be... how long ago had they battled the Ancient Horrors? But before he could do or say anything, Mortuai spoke: “Per Lucem...” he said, voice dry and dusty like the fluttering of old leaves or the turning pages of an ancient book. He seemed to be expecting a response: Shawn started to introduce himself and suddenly found himself standing in front of the painting in the Library again.

It took him a few tries to figure out how to respond to Mortuai, but he eventually got it right. He also learned the hard way that there wasn’t much in that room that he could interact with that wouldn’t upset the mage. But in the end, he found his way through the room and into the dungeons. He nearly immediately met a nasty surprise: a Wraith.

It was a mark of his strength, skill, and courage that he faced it down without flinching. Well. Maybe he’d flinched, a little. But he dispatched it pretty effectively, all on his own. No one was here to see it... but knowing what Wraiths did to people... Shawn felt like that was a service he was willing to do for everyone, for no reward, not even credit. Those things shouldn’t exist. Even now, Joel told him he still had the odd nightmare. Or Shawn knew he was having them, because he whimpered in his sleep the same way he had when Shawn had been trying to get him out of the catacombs. So Shawn felt a very real sense of triumph after dispatching the Wraith in the dungeons.

Meeting the ghosts of the other Knights Luminar was both saddening, to see how they remained incomplete, feeling responsible for the terrible events of all those years ago. But also encouraging, to feel a little echo of how heroic these people had been in life. Maybe Shawn couldn’t aspire to be *that* heroic, but... he knew he’d made a difference, already. And he was already envisioning how he could make a difference when he got out of Hero-U.

Shawn took strength from that idea as he continued to work his way through the dungeon. He felt exceedingly clever, solving the tile puzzle, and then felt exceedingly outmatched facing the Guardian on the other side. A stone golem, which if he’d had time to think about it, had probably been made by Mortuai, which was designed for only one thing: to kill him, the intruder. He wished he could use his charm on it, convince it that he just needed to see where the doors on the other side of the room went... but instead he tried to treat it as just another puzzle to solve. He found a way around the Golem, a way to slow it down, and then eventually he managed to destroy it. At first he was filled with the bright feeling of victory... but then, as he looked at its twisted hulking mass, still smoking in a pile on the ground... he felt almost a little sorry for having destroyed it. It was clearly crafted by a master, and probably for good reason. And if it *was* Mortuai who had made it, that made Shawn feel even guiltier, because Mortuai was actually still alive back near the library. But Shawn had to get through here, and the Golem hadn’t been about to just let him pass.

He tried to put it from his mind, and move on. He found the Drat Queen, and he bargained with her, giving her an artifact he’d pulled from the dead Giant Proach in return for her and her Warrior Drats to leave and never come back. As he made his way back up to the courtyard garden, he thought to himself that he’d done well. He’d done this quickly, efficiently, hadn’t troubled anyone else... truly Roguish. Just make a problem go away, or take care of one before anyone knows it could be a possibility. Work from the shadows, obliquely.

As Shawn hauled himself up the ladder and into the gazebo, closing the hatch behind him, he took a moment to rest on the little bench. He’d sat here a few times with Joel when no one else was looking, enjoying the fountains and the flowers. It wasn’t quite as romantic as the rooftop garden with Thomas, and he had more fun with Joel when they had actual privacy... but there was still something lovely about moments like that.

And none of this would have been possible if he hadn’t come here. None of his friendships, none of his romantic relationships... he never would have discovered the possibility of being a Rogue and a Hero. He never would have learned the truth about his father. He was utterly and completely glad that he’d chosen this over prison. And grateful that he hadn’t succeeded in that first job, to just become another Thief, to upset his mother (and, as it turned out, go against what his father had decided about Thievery before he died).

Shawn thought all this, gazing out into the garden, listening to the music of the water in the fountains. He looked forward, tomorrow morning, to telling everyone he’d taken care of the Drat problem. But right now, he looked forward to well-earned sleep.


	18. Chapter 18

It was a week later, awfully close to the end of the term. Joel had already said sadly to Shawn that he had to head home afterwards. No sign of the raven statue he'd come to find, and he hadn't enough money to attend Hero-U again next term. Shawn had offered to lend him money to come to the school again next year (he'd managed to squirrel away quite a lot of the zombie pirate loot from helping Katie), and Joel had accepted the offer, but... it was still a long time until then. Shawn had said as much, and Joel had offered to stay over the summer, adding slyly, "If someone can make me an offer I can't refuse..." and Shawn had almost asked him to stay... but he felt like it was wrong to keep Joel here just to fool around with him. Shawn would miss him, rather a lot, but because Joel was really here to find the raven statue, and that was what his support from his lenders was for, and Shawn still had no idea where statue was... it just seemed like Joel ought to head home rather than continuing to pay the rather expensive rates of the inns in Sardonia. Shawn would just have to wait through the summer to see him again. He clearly didn't have the spare Lyra to travel to see Joel himself, even with his savings. If only he could have found the statue... 

Though, now Shawn knew his father had had it, before he died. And Terk seemed convinced that Master Von Urwald had it in his office somewhere. Shawn thought that was unlikely, but had said he'd try to look. Not that he wanted to help Terk, or even thought he could get into the Master's office anyway... but Terk didn't give him much of a choice, threatening to kick him out only days before the end of the term. Which would probably mean going to jail, he thought, remembering back to his start at the school.

All of this was weighing heavily on him, so when Thomas asked if he'd like to meet in the garden that night, Shawn agreed readily. It didn't hurt that Thomas was giving him that sweet, knowing little smile as he asked.

Late that night, after appropriate sneaking, Shawn arrived at the garden and found Thomas already there, hands on the parapet, looking out over the city pensively. Thomas turned to Shawn as he finished climbing the stairs and smiled at him. "Good evening, Shawn."

Shawn said, "And to you, too. Shall we sit?" and he motioned to the bench they'd sat on last time. Thomas nodded, and moved eagerly across the garden. Shawn trailed a hand in the fine mist of the fountain as they passed by, and then found himself wiping the damp off on his pant leg. Just as well he wasn't wearing the leather, this time, he thought idly.

They sat on the bench, side by side, looking up at the stars. Eventually, Thomas asked, "So, where are you going to go after the term is over?"

Shawn frowned. The question brought it all back again, reminding him that he didn't know if he'd even be able to finish out the term, if Terk had his way. He'd mostly thought that Terk was just a bag of hot air who couldn't actually kick him out; he'd been careful to sneak around and avoid him as much as he could all term. But the way he'd been talking last night, Terk had seemed so driven by some kind of desperation that Shawn felt more threatened than he usually was by Terk's blather.

But Thomas was looking at him expectantly. So he put all that out of his mind and said, "Well, I think I'll probably just go back home, at least for the summer. I'm still hoping I can come back for another term next year."

Thomas eyed him in a way that made Shawn think Thomas had noticed that Shawn had other things on his mind. But Thomas wasn't one to pry. (Joel, on the other hand... would definitely have pried. It was a good thing Shawn hadn’t had time alone with Joel since that last conversation with Terk.) So Thomas said, "You'd be back with your mother? I'd like to meet her, sometime."

Shawn felt his face flush. Somehow it hadn't occurred to him to introduce any of his friends or his romantic interests to his mother. Not even before Hero-U, actually. He thought of how simple and uneducated his mother was, and how intelligent and well-read Thomas was -- he practically lived in the library, after all -- but then he thought about how Thomas was so accepting and respectful and considerate of everyone he met, no matter who it was. Must be those Paladin tendencies: of all his friends, Shawn thought Thomas would like his mother, and his mother wouldn't be intimidated by meeting him. 

So he said, "Um, sure. I think she'd like you very much, actually." Because what was there not to like? Shawn thought to himself.

Thomas smiled. Shawn tried to change the subject. "Where will you go, then?" Now it was Thomas' turn to sit thoughtfully, and then at length flush slightly as he said, "Well, I was thinking I'd stay around here, too. I'm also hoping to come back to Hero-U next term, as well." He was silent for a moment. "And, well, I like being here because..." he trailed off.

Shawn guessed: "Because you can still be close to your father." Thomas looked at him, and the serious look warmed to a kind of appreciation Shawn hadn't yet seen from him. Not that Shawn hadn't been paying attention all this time, but maybe this was the first moment that Thomas realized that Shawn really understood him.

Thomas nodded. "And of course, I don't want to go join my mother." Shawn laughed and said, "Wasn't that the whole point of the exercise? To avoid her judgment and rules for you?"

Thomas nodded again, and then looked down, unhappy. Shawn was instantly sorry he'd said it, even if it were true. On impulse, he said, "Hey," and reached over to gently take Thomas by the chin and turn him to face Shawn. "I've... been wanting to do this," he said, and even more gently, moved to peel the fake moustache off of Thomas' face.

There was a brief look of panic in Thomas' eyes, as he clearly looked to the sides, afraid someone might see. If that look had stayed much longer, Shawn would have stopped. But it faded, leaving just wariness in its place. Shawn thought that was enough. Thomas needed to cheer up, and so did he, and this would be worth it.

So he carefully removed the fake moustache and goatee, and let himself take in Thomas' face, unadorned, for only a moment, before he impulsively stuck them on his own lip and chin.

Thomas' eyes widened and he clapped his hands over his mouth, stifling a rather undignified laugh before it could erupt full-force.

Shawn waggled his eyebrows at Thomas and said, "What do you think?" Thomas shook his head, still trying to hold his laughter in. Shawn mock-twirled the moustache, and that was too much. Thomas burst out with an utterly silly giggle and buried his face in his hands.

"St-stop, it's just too... too much," Thomas managed, between giggles, sneaking a look at Shawn out of the corner of his eye and then dissolving back into laughter.

Shawn got the timing just right that every time Thomas looked up at him, Shawn was striking a new ridiculous pose: crossed arms and serious look one moment, then eyebrow arched suggestively, then pensively stroking the goatee. Eventually Thomas put a hand on Shawn's leg, and said, "Al-All right, seriously, that's -- that's plenty of that, thank you."

So Shawn stopped clowning, and when Thomas looked up at him next, and said, "They look utterly ridiculous on you," Shawn just nodded and smiled. He didn't protest when Thomas reached up to peel them off of Shawn's face. They came off more easily than they had the first time; Shawn had shaved that morning but was just a little scruffy by this time of night. More adhesive would have been needed to make it a passable costume for him; he had the stray thought that Master Von Urwald knew exactly how to make durable costumes for different occasions, and that was a skill he had yet to teach the Disbarred Bards. Maybe next term. *If* Shawn got to come back, next term... *If* he could finish this one, intact...

The thought was unpleasant again, and so he turned his attention back to Thomas, who had paused, holding the fake moustache, and hadn't put it back on yet. He looked uncertain, so Shawn said, "Sorry, just thinking about the final exam."

It was a lame excuse, and Thomas got a knowing look in his eyes that said he knew that the final exam wasn't what was on Shawn's mind, but also that Shawn didn't want to talk about it right then, and Thomas wouldn't push it. Shawn was actually quite grateful for that. He *didn't* want to talk about it. He just wanted to enjoy this moment with Thomas.

And this time he let himself really look at Thomas without the moustache. He did look a bit elfin; Shawn could imagine that with longer hair he would be just as attractive, and would easily look like a woman. As he watched, the twinkle reappeared in Thomas' eyes, and Shawn thought to himself that it didn't really matter what the details were; he was utterly smitten with Thomas in whatever form he chose.

Thomas smiled at him, and leaned closer, and Shawn took the initiative to kiss him, deeply. Without the moustache in the way, it was much easier to lean in, to feel that Thomas' skin really was quite smooth. And... it took him by surprise, the serious but passionate way that Thomas responded. It wasn't the brief kiss they'd shared before. There was no teasing, as there often was with Joel, but instead, an extremely strong feeling that Thomas was utterly present with him, and wanted him, deeply, at his core -- not just physically. Shawn realized that he felt something that seemed similar. He'd never felt this way about someone before.

At length, Thomas pushed him gently away. Shawn didn't want to stop... but as he caught his breath, he realized that it was probably just as well. It was one thing to get carried away with Joel, where they both knew it was one part play, one part serious, one part comfort... but Shawn didn't really know what these feelings for Thomas meant, yet. Better to take it slower, he thought, and with a pang of regret, let go of where he'd been holding Thomas' arm.

As he opened his eyes, and saw the look in Thomas' -- yearning, desirous, equally serious -- he almost lost his resolve again. But then Thomas smiled and moved to put the moustache and goatee back on. Shawn sighed and shifted away, letting him do so.

After a few moments just looking at each other, Thomas said softly, "It's late." Shawn nodded ruefully, looking up at the stars to gauge just how late it was... and was surprised to see that it was almost midnight. They'd been up here for a couple of hours, altogether.

"You're right," he admitted. He stood, and Thomas followed suit. Thomas shyly held out a hand. Shawn smiled and took it, and they walked downstairs, eventually reaching the door of the Darla wing.

"Why don't you go on," said Thomas. Shawn nodded. It was still a good idea to sneak back to the dorm rooms separately... and he thought Thomas probably had something to say to his father, before he headed back, so it made sense for Shawn to go first. Though he had listened in clandestinely before, trying to learn what was going on with his mysterious classmate, at the moment, he thought maybe he didn't want to eavesdrop on this particular conversation.

He went to the door, Thomas right behind him. He turned, and saw that look again in Thomas' eyes, the one that said he wanted nothing more than to look into Shawn's for the rest of eternity. He sighed, and, exercising extreme restraint, leaned over and kissed Thomas on the cheek. He whispered to Thomas, "I'm glad you'll be sticking around Sardonia this summer."

Thomas reached over and hugged him. "Me, too," he said. And with that, Shawn turned and left the room, headed to bed.


	19. Chapter 19

He didn’t make it to bed, though. Terk caught him as he was walking down the hall. Shawn thought to himself that Terk wasn’t usually out this late at night, or he’d’ve been more careful as he walked past the man’s office.

“O’Conner! Get in my office immediately.” Shawn complied, with a quick glance back at the door to the Darla Wing. Just a moment ago, he’d been with Thomas, and all these troubles had seemed miles away... but now he’d have to face the music.

He sat at Terk’s desk. Terk told him that his Patron was getting desperate and Shawn needed to find some bird statue or Terk would kick him out of the school immediately. Shawn had already worked out that his Patron must be the Chief Thief of the Con Game Guild, the one who had set him the task of stealing the lucky coin that Shawn now knew was his father’s. And of course the bird statue must be the Raven. Typical of Terk not to understand what he was talking about. He had the intelligence (and charm) of a rotting banana. Though, in and among Shawn's rapidly increasing concerns about the whole situation, was a sense that Terk was the one getting desperate: Shawn wondered whether the Chief Thief had threatened him in some way. He didn't quite feel pity for Terk, but... almost.

Terk reiterated that Shawn had to search Master von Urwald’s office; the Patron was positive that was where the statue was. Shawn still thought this was unlikely, but there was a chance that his father could have given the statue to Gerhard for safekeeping... and at the very least, Terk was telling him he needed to go right this second to break into the Master’s office. Terk was telling him that his Patron had left him tools to do so. He kicked Shawn out of his office with the warning that he’d better come back with the statue or end up on the street.

As Shawn made his way down to the lower hallway of the castle where the Rogue classrooms were, his thoughts were moving a mile a minute. He’d never been able to get into the Master’s office before; even when he’d disarmed traps and picked locks, he’d never succeeded. And even if the statue was there, how could he give the Raven to the Chief Thief? If his own father had willingly given up dominion over all thieves, and his father at least had been both noble and charismatic, what would happen to Sardonia if the Chief Thief were able to unite the thieves? Shawn wanted to be a Hero, now, and this was far from a heroic act. In fact, it would have terrible consequences.

If the Master had been here this late at night, then maybe Shawn could have talked to him, figured a way out of the situation. Maybe he could try to catch Thomas in the Darla wing and try to get advice from him... Thomas was a skilled strategist. Or Joel... he could probably knock on his and Sosi’s door, and Joel would have all sorts of ideas of what to do in this situation (though then Sosi would know something was up).

But Terk had made it clear that this needed to be done *right* *now*. And Shawn didn’t want to pull any of his friends or partners into his mess. So then he stood, in front of von Urwald’s office door. He’d searched all the paintings around the hallway, and found a set of magical lockpicks. He used them to open the Master’s office, and went in. He searched all the cabinets and drawers, even picked various locks. He did it all slowly, because he really didn’t want to face what would happen if he *did* find the statue. Or what would happen if he didn’t, because then where would he look? It was a no-win situation.

Shawn did not find the Raven statue. He did find, however, a letter from his mother to von Urwald. Asking him to guide Shawn away from Thieving. Shawn was just in the process of absorbing this information when the Master came in from a secret door behind the Spielburg tapestry.

The Master asked him to explain himself. Shawn did so, gratefully, hoping that von Urwald could help him. But all his professor did was to tell him about his parents and how he’d talked Donal into becoming a Rogue... things that Shawn already knew from speaking with Donal’s ghost. And he confirmed that he did not have the Raven statue; that the statue must be wherever Donal had left it.

Then, though, Gerhard told him something he didn’t know: the Chief Thief, his Patron, was his uncle Shamus. And then he told Shawn to go out to the city through the secret passage, go to the break-in house, and meet his uncle. Talk to him.

And then it dawned on Shawn: “You were the stranger in the alley.” The Master’s mouth quirked into a sly smile, and he nodded. Shawn realized he had recognized some of the items in one of the cupboards he’d just searched: a particular hat, a wig, and an eyepatch. 

Then von Urwald urged Shawn to leave, go to the break-in house where he was to meet the Chief Thief. His uncle Shamus. And as Shawn worked his way through the secret passageway out into the streets, he didn’t have time to appreciate the freedom of being outside the castle for the first time in so many months. As he approached the break-in house, it suddenly hit him, what Gerhard had just said: it was the house Shawn had lived in with his parents, before his father had died. 

As Shawn climbed in through the window, now painfully aware of how sneaky he was in comparison to his clumsy attempt all those months ago, and stood there in the firelit room once again... it was utterly obvious to him why the room was familiar. And especially the fireplace. Now he had a dim memory of playing with toys in front of that fire. Memories of his mother singing (a little off-key) and rocking him in front of that fire. And... very faint, faint enough that he wasn’t sure if he really remembered, or if he was just constructing the memory: he thought he could remember his father’s voice, telling him some story or other.

Shawn went straight to the secret panel in the mantle where the lucky coin had been. Now that he was here, he wasn’t even thinking of his uncle. He was just thinking of that safe, with its elaborate locking mechanisms, which he now knew were of a type well beyond any he’d seen in the castle. Joel had a few locks closer to this class, in his store-room, but even still... 

Shawn fiddled with the locks on the safe for a bit, and then in a fit of inspiration put the coin back in its place. Then he was able to use the magical tools to open the compartment. And though his Thief’s skills had been pretty rudimentary back then, his instinct had been correct. This safe guarded something of incredible value: the Raven statue. 

Shawn lifted it out of the wall, hefting it a little in his hands. Believing and not believing that he’d done it, all at once. Full of reverence, excitement, and dread about what it represented... but before he could think any further, Shamus came into the room.

He was older, a little wearier, and stockier than he was in the portrait that hung by Donal’s memorial. But it was definitely Shawn’s uncle.

And for the first time, Shawn could directly ask a living person what had happened to his father – and he did so. And he could see, for himself, how much Shamus had loved his brother, and how much he regretted that fight. That he (predictably) blamed Gerhard for causing the argument in the first place (about abolishing the Thieves’ Kingdom). And that he had supported Shawn as his Patron because he wanted to support his brother’s son. That he’d have raised Shawn himself, if Shawn’s mother Nora hadn’t blamed him for Donal’s death. That he’d sent Shawn looking for the lucky coin hoping that eventually Shawn would join him in the Guild, though Nora would have been upset about it. Of course, von Urwald had followed Nora’s wishes and intercepted Shawn before he could go down that path. But Shamus was saying, “Having the lucky coin and you working with me... it’d be like having Donal back.” And the hope in Shamus’ eyes was a little heartbreaking.

Shawn felt a kind of warmth towards his uncle that he hadn’t been expecting. That didn’t, however, sway his resolve when Shamus asked him to hand over the statue. Shawn had already decided that he would do no such thing. He turned on the charm, and talked his way out of the situation. 

“In memory of my father, I’m going to abide by his last wish. There will be no more King of Thieves in Sardonia.” At first, his uncle was crushed. Then he started to try to get angry. “You can’t just walk away.”

Shawn somehow knew exactly what to say in response: “Oh, but I can. And for the love of my father, you’re going to let me.”

And Shamus’ face fell, and he nodded reluctantly, sadly. Shawn said, “Farewell, Uncle Shamus.” And he headed back to the castle.


	20. Chapter 20

The next morning, Shawn opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling of his room. It was the last day of class. Aeolus was still snoring loudly, off to the side. Shawn felt a pang; he knew that Aeolus would be heading back to be with his family today, and Esme would be going with him. He’d been happy for the two of them to get together – they both had a sense of joy about life, a kind of delight and engagement with the things they did... Shawn felt they’d be really happy with each other. Esme wanted a home, a stable life, in contrast to the Rover lifestyle she’d grown up with. Aeolus just wanted someone to love, to write songs about. And Esme was good inspiration for that, Shawn thought.

Katie was going to take her loot and go set the inn up for old sailors to come have a place to stay – she’d told him she’d buy it from her father, if she had to. Thomas was staying in town, and Joel was heading back to Marete. Who cared what Sosi was doing.

And Shawn... well, he wouldn’t be going to jail, that was for certain. Shawn would go back to Mama’s house, a lot richer in many senses. Not just the Lyra he’d found and earned. Not just the Rogue skills and ethics. But also his friends, and his romantic relationships. And his knowledge about his father.

And he had the Raven. He could decide what to do with it. He already knew he wasn’t going to allow it to be used to unite the Thieves. But should he destroy it? Hide it elsewhere?

Shawn let his thoughts slowly tumble for a little while, but then he heard the morning bell. It was time to get up, bathe, have breakfast... and then, to go account for himself, to see what his friends thought about their own experiences and what they thought of each other.

So he got to it. He freshened up, got dressed in his leather clothes. Went to breakfast, went to class. Didn’t worry about Terk giving him demerits for not wearing the school uniform, because Shawn already knew Terk couldn’t touch him anymore. In the course of the conversation with Master von Urwald last night, Shawn had told him that he’d found Terk’s ledger book, they’d looked over it together, and now they had proof that Terk had been paid off by the Chief Thief. Von Urwald had asked how Shawn thought they should proceed, and Shawn decided the Rogueish thing to do would be to have the headmaster force Terk to be polite to everyone, especially the Disbarred Bards. Of course, they hadn’t had time to act on that plan before last night’s events, but between the fact that Shawn had the Raven, and Uncle Shamus had gone off with his tail between his legs, and the Master had dirt on Terk... Shawn felt pretty confident, striding down the corridor to the dining hall and then down to the Rogue classroom after breakfast.

Terk spluttered as Shawn walked by on his way to class. Shawn smirked at him and said, “Had a really interesting night. I don’t think you’ll be needing to contact my Patron anymore.” Terk’s mouth hung open as Shawn headed off down the hall. “O-O’Conner!” Terk finally managed, as Shawn started down the stairs at the far end, “You’re still a slacker!” Shawn could barely hear him. The sound of trouble fading away, he thought.

Shawn entered the classroom and sat in his corner behind Joel. It suddenly hit him that he’d have to find a way to tell Joel about the Raven statue... but Shawn knew Joel would be leaving later today. When could he do it? But before he could come up with something, Professor von Urwald walked in and began class.

The Master prompted each of them to talk about what they’d learned this semester. Esme spoke eloquently about how learning to be a Hero meant facing danger, which is always around the corner. She showed off a claw from the Giant Proach and nominated Shawn as “Rogue of the Year.” Katie talked about her pirate treasure, holding up one of the unique gold coins that had been in the pirate ship’s hold. She agreed with Esme about Shawn’s aid being invaluable. He was gratified that they appreciated his help as much as they did. And pretty pleased with himself, remembering those adventures. Thomas talked about wanting to become a hero, shared his father’s Medal of Honor from saving Sardonia. And he said, “Heroism is not about what you are, it’s about what you do.” He declared pride in being a Rogue. And he lent his vote to Shawn, too, “the true hero of the class.” Shawn felt warm inside, hearing Thomas say this about him. He thought about their evening together, before the encounter with Terk and Shamus... 

The Master gave Thomas special recognition for how much he’d learned and grown during the class. Shawn saw Thomas smile, accepting the compliment. Shawn smiled, too, pleased that Thomas had gotten to this place of comfort with himself.

But then the Master turned to Joel. And Joel was, as far as Shawn could tell, uncharacteristically honest in his answer. That he’d only come to the school to try to find the Raven. He’d thought of the whole school for heroes as a joke. And then he said that he’d learned that he had to stand on his own, not in another’s shadow. He said he’d learned that there really is such a thing as a hero. He didn’t look over at Sosi, or back at Shawn. But Shawn’s heart missed a beat, to hear Joel say this in front of everyone – to lay it all bare like that.

And then Joel said, “I have nothing to show for the lessons I have learned here... Nothing, that is, but the fact that I still live.” And now Shawn’s heart was pounding. Joel did turn to look back at Shawn sitting behind him, and said that there was no finer Rogue than he. It was all Shawn could do to smile back at Joel’s utterly naked (and public) statement of gratitude, nod once, and then as everyone turned to look back at the Master, wink at Joel. Joel just caught it out of the corner of his eye, and smirked ever so slightly.

Sosi said something empty, whatever it was that he thought the Master wanted to hear. It was almost laughable, but Shawn kept his derision in check. And then von Urwald turned to him.

What should he say he’d learned? He’d learned so much, from skills, to the details of his own past, to the history of Castle Luminar, and of course the whole idea of being a Rogue instead of a Thief... But as he looked around the room at his friends, he thought to himself, that’s the most important thing. I would never want to be a Rogue instead of a Thief if there weren’t people worth saving, and people I can count on to have my back.

So that’s what he said. That the most important thing he’d learned was how important his friends were to him. And he showed everyone the lucky coin; that item that had brought him here in the first place, ill-gotten, and had saved him last night, rightfully. He said, “This Lucky Coin was once my father’s. It’s a symbol of who I was and what I will be. It was a key to unlocking my past and giving me a new future.” He looked von Urwald in the eye, and saw the Master nod slightly. He knew exactly what Shawn was saying: I thought I’d be a Thief, but you taught me about Rogues. And then I found out that my father had made the same journey I had. And that will be my future: doing Good, from the shadows, on the sly. 

Shawn mentioned his uncle, and then decided he needed to finish on something funny. So he said something flippant about “Heads, I’m a Rogue, tails I’m a Thief,” tossed the coin... and said, “Oh, it’s heads, I guess I’m a Rogue.” Katie called out, “Hey, that came up tails!” and Shawn shrugged and smirked at her. “Shows you how much of a Rogue I am.” Katie made a sour face at him, but then smiled.

Then Shawn nominated Thomas to be Rogue of the Year, because he knew how much Thomas had struggled to learn what he had learned. And then... the Master awarded the title to Shawn.

Shawn was surprised by two things: first, given that von Urwald had made fun of the title when he’d first announced it back at the beginning of the term, it was surprising to Shawn how genuine the Master’s smile seemed to be as he said it. And second, Shawn was surprised by how good it made him feel to have the Master say it. Shawn knew he’d done Good during his time here. He’d learned, he’d saved Joel’s life, he’d helped Katie and Esme and Thomas. He’d stopped a number of unfortunate goings-on that would have ended the Disbarred Bards class or the University altogether. And he was proud of all that, for himself. But it was still really gratifying to hear von Urwald recognize him like this. The Master’s opinion of him had come to matter to Shawn a great deal.

And everyone cheered. That felt good, too. And... that was it: then von Urwald dismissed them. People dispersed, off to pack up and leave the school.

Shawn hung back to talk to Joel. He said, “Can I speak to you for a minute, privately?” Joel smiled at him slyly, and responded, “How privately?”

Shawn looked around, and blushing only a little, asked, “How long do we have before you have to get out of here?” Joel said, “An hour. I’ve already packed all my things.” Shawn nodded at him. “Well, then,” Joel said, and led the way out into the hallway and off to the practice room to find the secret passageway. 

Once they got to Joel’s storage room, they were barely inside before Joel was pressed up against Shawn, kissing him fiercely. Shawn himself felt a certain kind of desperation, realizing he didn’t know when he’d get to see Joel again... and at the same time, fragments of thought got through the intensity of the physical sensations, intermittently: I need to tell him I found the Raven statue. He’s got to know...

Joel managed a few words in between passionate kisses: “Oh, Fates, why do I have to leave *now*? Why couldn’t I find that thrice-damned statue...”

Shawn pushed Joel away long enough for Joel to begin busily undoing the fasteners on Shawn’s leather jacket. Shawn said, slowly, “If you *had* found the statue, would that mean you could stay?” It was a half-formed thought... Shawn couldn’t just give the statue to Joel, of course...

Joel glanced up at him, a little confused. He stopped with the jacket as he saw that Shawn was serious. “N-No, I would probably need to take it back to Marete. Did you...?” Joel trailed off, and then he successfully read Shawn’s expression. “You did! You scoundrel, you found the statue? When? How? Why didn’t you tell me...?” But the feeling behind the volley of questions was wonder, not anger.

Shawn chuckled and wrapped his arms around Joel’s waist. He said, “Last night. I found it last night. And my uncle tried to take it from me. But I realized I couldn’t let it fall into the hands of Thieves ever again. I had to keep it in the hands of Rogues.”

Several different reactions chased each other across Joel’s face, which was unusually easy to read, at least for Shawn in this particular situation. The initial sense of wonder seemed to fade into a sort of calculating mode, then disappointment, then resignation. Joel sighed, put his arms around Shawn’s neck, and said, “Well. I suppose I shall never find it, then. Because if I did, I would have to take it back to the Thieves’ Guild in Marete. And who knows what trouble they would make with it.”

Shawn nodded slowly. Joel smirked a bit, and then said, “And of course it’s best in the hands of Rogues, who know what to do with it, to do the most Good. And what better Rogue do I know than Shawn O’Conner...” And with that, Joel leaned in again to kiss him slowly, lingeringly.

At length, Shawn whispered to Joel, “Thank you.” He could only guess what Joel was giving up by letting go of this quest. Joel chuckled softly and said, “You’re welcome, but as always, it should be me thanking you. Let me thank you one more time, before I go, eh?” Shawn chuckled and smiled and let himself be led off.

It may only have been an hour altogether, but it was a memorable hour. Joel sure knew how to show a guy how he felt. The two of them parted ways just outside the practice room, where Shawn went to the Master’s office to thank him one more time before going to pack, and Joel went back up the corridor to leave and head for the ship he was sailing home on.

After bidding the Master farewell, Shawn wandered back up to his room. Aeolus was already gone – Shawn had never seen that half of the room so clean – but there was a note on the floor that had been tucked underneath the door.

All it read was, “Looking forward to this summer. Find me when you have some time to talk. Yours in Service, Thomas.” Joel might have left, of course. But Thomas was staying in Caligari for the summer. Shawn grinned, and got started packing his things. Maybe he was looking forward to summer, after all. 

And, thinking ahead... he was also looking forward to seeing his Mama, too. It had been a while, and he missed her. She didn’t need to know everything that happened, but Shawn figured that she’d be able to tell that her wish for him had come true: the Master had taught him to be a Rogue. And he’d learned for himself that that’s what he wanted, anyway. And... he’d found love of many different kinds in all sorts of places. Somehow he knew she’d be able to tell that just from looking at him. Shawn was looking forward to going home.


	21. Chapter 21

While he’d been looking forward to going home, Shawn wasn’t necessarily prepared for what that entailed, practically speaking. Because he wanted to keep his earnings from his Hero-U adventures in reserve – savings for emergencies, and for his and Joel’s tuition the next year – Shawn realized he needed a day job now that he was back in the house. After all, his mother’s seamstress work hadn’t been enough to support them both, back when he’d left for Hero-U. So he found some intermittent work as a courier for some of the local businesses. 

It wasn't steady work by any means, but it helped put food on the table. He did feel good about bringing in some money at least, to supplement the household's income, even if he didn’t tell his mother about the funds he held in reserve. He felt a little bad about keeping that information from her, but he still wasn’t sure how much he wanted to tell her about his time at Castle Luminar, and wasn’t quite sure how he planned to use the money he had saved. It was important to him to go back to Hero-U to learn more, and to see his friends again. And he'd promised Joel he'd lend him tuition money -- it was the only way Joel could come back. Shawn had also considered whether he ought to live on his own somewhere. But he didn’t really fancy being alone all the time, and he was fairly certain he couldn’t afford it without spending down his reserves. 

Delivering packages wasn't the money he'd hoped he'd be able to earn by joining the Thieves' guild, back before he'd been to Hero-U. But now he had a different purpose: to serve the Rogues' Guild, when they needed him. And... now he knew better how his mother felt about Thieves, and why. So he knew she’d approve, if she knew the details; and even if he could have made more money as a Thief, she wouldn't have liked how he did it. But because they still needed to eat – and Roguery didn't pay – Shawn needed a more mundane job. He felt satisfied that his way of helping his mother was to contribute daily income. 

But today, a month after finishing the term at Hero-U, Shawn was feeling worn out. There'd been three separate deliveries, one of them particularly tricky, and another other one all the way across town. And then, after he'd gotten back from his deliveries, his mother had asked him to get up on the roof and try to clean the chimney out. The flue had backed up somehow... some animal had stuck something down the chimney, Shawn thought. He'd managed to get it cleared up, and then went for a well-earned bath to wash off all the soot, and then finally, with a long sigh, had laid down on his bed.

At first he just laid there with his eyes closed. But after a few moments he opened them and looked sideways out his window at the night sky, studded with stars. Not quite the same stars he'd gazed up at with Thomas, at the end of the year at Hero-U, because the sky had moved already a bit as the summer had begun to wear on. And it was hard to see many of them from his window in a crowded, lower-income part of town where the buildings were close together. But in the sliver of sky he could see, there at the edge, were a few of the constellations they'd picked out together.

Shawn yawned, and then shifted in the bed, only to start up into a sitting position as something jabbed him in the neck. He twisted around to see what it was... a note, it looked like. The edge of the paper had been at just the right angle to get him at the ticklish spot between chin, ear, and neck.

He picked it up; nothing written on the outside. He unfolded it and read: "Meet me in the Turner's garden at midnight." The Turner's garden was a public park in a middle-class part of town. As Shawn's exhausted brain slowly worked out whose handwriting it was, and why he'd be suggesting a meeting like this, a smile crept across his face. Well. He'd better grab a nap, then, so he could get up and sneak out to that part of town by midnight.


	22. Chapter 22

After the nap, Shawn used his best Rogue skills to leave the house unnoticed and make his way to the garden. It was much more difficult than sneaking around Castle Luminar and environs, he found. It was more ground to cover, of course, and some of the neighborhoods he wasn't as familiar with. There were a lot more people around, even this late at night. There were times where he attracted less attention just walking down the street along with everyone else, rather than darting from shadow to shadow. As he usually did, he noticed local Thieves eyeing him, angling for his pockets, and Shawn smirked to himself as he sidestepped any chance of them filching anything from him. He just made sure he wasn't there when they tried. Thanks, Master Von Urwald, he thought silently.

Shawn arrived at the park, stealthily waiting in the shadows of the archways that led into the green space. The moon was nearly full, so it was quite bright in the garden at this time of night. There were benches, and little stands of trees. Nothing terribly fancy or manicured, but nicely kept up.

There was a stone fountain in the center of the garden, and as he watched, he noticed someone sitting on the ground, hidden in the shadow the moon cast from the fountain. There had only been a subtle motion that alerted Shawn to their presence; he’d just caught it out of the corner of his eye.

After a moment Shawn was satisfied that no one else was here, or at least if there *was*, they were much sneakier than he was and there wasn't much he could do about that. But he'd been finding, since his Hero-U training, that most people who wished him ill weren't skilled enough to actually manage to do him ill. So it was probably safe. The only person here of any consequence was the one he was here to meet.

So he stepped slowly into the light, crossed his arms, and waited.

A soft chuckle met his ears. "I didn't see you arrive."

Shawn responded, smiling broadly. "Well, then the Master would be quite proud of me, I think."

"He would," the shadowy figure said, and then unfolded itself from the fountain and became Thomas as the light fell on his face and form.

Shawn crossed to him and said, "Well met, Herr Kent." He reached a hand out. Thomas took his hand and said, "And you, Herr O'Conner." Then Thomas tentatively slid his arms around Shawn's waist, and snuggled in for a long hug. Shawn gladly wrapped his arms around Thomas in response. Shawn had meant to find him soon after class was out; Thomas had mentioned to Shawn he planned to find a room to rent in town somewhere, and he would plan to let Shawn know where to find him, when he got a chance. But then Shawn had started doing deliveries, and apparently his mother expected him to handle all the deferred maintenance on the house and... well, a few weeks had gone by. The stray thought of trying to figure out where Thomas was had crossed Shawn’s mind frequently enough, but never when he had time to act on it. He was glad that Thomas had taken the initiative.

After a few long moments, standing there, just drinking in the feel of Thomas against him, Shawn murmured, "Shall we sit somewhere?" Thomas murmured assent back to him, and they went to one of the benches that were secluded in shadow at the edge of the garden.

"It's a nice spot," Shawn said conversationally. Thomas nodded, smiling at him. "Yes... I've been coming here in the evenings because it reminds me of the garden above the Darla wing." Shawn's heart beat a little harder as Thomas said it; was it because Thomas was thinking of him when he thought of the garden? Silly, he told himself. But then Thomas said, "And I've been wanting to share this place with you." And then he reached up and tentatively stroked Shawn's hair out of his eyes with a gloved finger.

Shawn drew in a slow breath, steadying himself. Just because he wanted to lean in and kiss Thomas passionately didn't mean that was the thing to do right now. "Why the secrecy?" he asked instead, a little teasingly.

Thomas chuckled. "Well, for practice, of course. And... I think it's more fun this way." Shawn chuckled back at him. But there was just a little bit of something at the edge of Thomas' response that made Shawn think maybe there was some other reason Thomas didn't want people to know about this. Maybe a nosy landlord? He wasn't sure. What else could it be?

But Shawn curtailed his speculation and said, "Well, I'll admit that it does have a little nostalgic charm going for it." Thomas leaned over and kissed Shawn softly on the cheek, and as he pulled slightly away to look at him, even in the dim light, Shawn thought he could see desire in Thomas’ eyes. He raised a hand to cup Thomas' cheek, and watched with held breath to see how he would react. Thomas sighed encouragingly, leaning into his hand. So Shawn decided maybe it was all right, after all, to lean in and kiss him.

It was definitely all right. Thomas more than reciprocated, sliding his hands around Shawn's sides and up his back as he pressed himself against Shawn. When Shawn paused for breath, Thomas said softly, "It's only been a few weeks since we last saw each other... why does it feel like it's been so long?"

Shawn reached up to stroke Thomas' hair. It was actually quite soft, and though it was an unremarkable dirty blond, the lighter parts seemed to shine a little in the reflected moonlight. 

He said to Thomas, "When you love something... when you want it badly and you're kept from it... any time at all feels like a lifetime." Thomas' mouth fell open a little, and Shawn realized maybe that had come across as a little too much at once. He wasn't exactly sure what he'd meant; just that it was how he felt, when he'd thought of Thomas in the last few weeks. But maybe it sounded too intense... so he laughed a bit, and added, "Well, at least, that *can* be how it feels."

But that seemed to make Thomas a little sad again. Shawn tried to change the subject. "Speaking of how the time has gone... I've found a few jobs delivering packages. What have you been up to?"

Thomas stammered a bit, clearly trying to shift gears, "O-oh, I found some work."

Shawn smirked at him. "Doing what?"

Thomas looked a little embarrassed. "I'm working for the magistrate."

"What?" asked Shawn, surprised, and a little louder than he'd meant to. That was the highest office of the city, next to the ruling family. "What are you doing for the magistrate?" he asked, more quietly.

Thomas leaned against the back of the bench. "Well, I'm transcribing and translating documents for him." Ah, thought Shawn. That's an eminently Thomas sort of job to do, and he'd be good at it. He *was* exceedingly well educated. Did they know he was related to the savior of the city, though?

Shawn asked, "Do they know who your father was?" Thomas leaned forward and said, "No. I decided that was too risky. And besides..." he hesitated, looking away. "I want to get along on my own merits, and not depend on his forever."

Shawn caught Thomas under the chin and turned his face towards him again. "That's a very good idea," he said. "Because you can most certainly stand on your own merits."

Now Thomas was the one to search Shawn's eyes briefly in the half-light before closing his own and leaning in for a kiss. Whatever sadness had appeared earlier seemed gone, and in its place was that familiar sense of deep yearning Shawn had perceived in earlier kisses. And Shawn was the one who had to call a halt after a bit.

He pulled back and said to Thomas, "Well, I imagine that your job will start early tomorrow, then?" Thomas nodded. "I don't want to make you tired or... compromise your position in any way." Shawn actually now had a little of an inkling why Thomas might not have wanted to meet at his place; Shawn wasn't exactly a high-born person in town, and if Thomas worked for the magistrate, it might not look so good to see him receiving visits from, well, frankly, riff-raff.

Thomas looked at him. He'd seen that Shawn understood. He was wary for a moment, but then Shawn said, "But maybe you can come visit me, sometime? Do you still want to meet my mother?"

Now Thomas' face lit up with that sweet, open smile. Shawn briefly reflected that it was his favorite of Thomas' expressions. Thomas said, "Yes, I'd like that very much."

Shawn said, "Maybe you can come join us for dinner, next Tuesday?" He thought to himself that would allow Thomas to finish a work-day, and leave to come see them afterwards. It should be fine for Thomas to go to him rather than the other way around. Unless he were being followed, but why would a magistrate's scribe be subject to such scrutiny? And a trained Rogue like Thomas could easily shake someone who was tailing him.

Apparently the idea appealed, because Thomas nodded eagerly, and said, "I'll be there." Shawn leaned over and kissed his ear lightly. "How about six thirty? We usually eat around seven."

Thomas nodded again, and put a hand to Shawn's cheek as if to hang on one moment longer. Shawn whispered to him, still close in his ear, "It'll feel like a lifetime 'til then."

He could feel Thomas start at that, likely recalling Shawn's earlier words about being kept from something you wanted badly, but before he could say anything Shawn quickly hugged him, stood, and said, "See you Tuesday." Thomas stood too, and said, "Until then." And they each went their separate ways, equally stealthily.


	23. Chapter 23

Stealth served Shawn well as a courier. He found out pretty quickly that some of his deliveries would have gone much worse without his Rogue training. Though he wasn't himself a Thief, he understood how they operated, and avoided a number of traps which would have lost him a delivery job – or possibly worse. The Thieves of the Con Game Guild would never risk approaching him; Uncle Shamus must have warned them off. But Thieves from the other guilds would sometimes try something, and it actually delighted Shawn to thwart those who would have had him as their prey. It was extremely satisfying.

One such day he’d been walking through a more... interesting... part of town, picking up a rare book from one of the more obscure shops, with instructions to bring it to a surprisingly upscale part of town. When he took the job, he supposed that the well-off person didn’t want to risk going into that part of town themselves, which made sense. And it was when Shawn had just picked up the book, tucked it into a coat pocket, and left the shop, that he immediately sensed three different people nonchalantly take note of him.

As he moved off into town, Shawn tracked them as they tracked him. One, a tall fellow, had gone on ahead, probably to try to guess Shawn’s path – and presumably to set up some kind of ambush. The second, someone wearing a cloak, was tailing him from a distance behind that was intended not to raise alarm. They might be there to ensure that Shawn couldn’t lose them by falling back or ducking into a different shop or side street. And the third, a medium-height young woman with curly hair, was walking casually through the crowd, a few people away. Shawn grinned. He was pretty sure she was there to distract him, and either get the book off him right away, or possibly to keep him occupied enough that the cloaked person could come up behind and get the item. If that failed, then an ambush would work well, she could lead him away from the main roads and it would be three-on-one. Shawn could probably defeat any one or even two of them, but probably not all three. Shawn’s grin deepened. This was going to be fun, he thought.

He fell into an easy, unhurried stride, watching the curly-haired one track him; she was looking for a good opening. Eventually he saw her purposely stumble in his direction; he obediently caught her by the arm before she landed, at the same time avoiding a subtle grab she made for his coat.

“Sorry!” she exclaimed. “My foot must have caught on something.” She beamed at Shawn. She *was* pretty attractive, and reasonably good at her job, he thought. If she weren’t a Thief, and he weren’t already doubly spoken for, maybe he’d have been interested in her.

He laughed reassuringly. “No worries. I’m Shawn.” She smiled again, taking her hand back (after sliding it along his arm a little flirtatiously – and evaluating his musculature, he noted). “I’m Alexa,” she said.

Shawn resumed walking, Alexa matching him. “Come here often?” he asked casually. “Oh, not too often,” she said. Shawn noted that the cloaked Thief had paused when they did, and had now moved a little closer, presumably on the assumption that Shawn was more distracted and less likely to notice them. A little alarmingly, Shawn realized he could feel a sense of magic emanating from them; either they were using spells themselves, or they were wearing magical items. They would be the one to worry about the most, he thought. Alexa was clearly strong on charm and dexterity, but someone who knew their way around spells and runes would be quite a challenge. Shawn had also been keeping half an eye on the fellow out in front, and watching the way he moved, Shawn figured he was the brawn.

Maybe a good strategy would be to beat them each at their own game. Shawn grinned at Alexa and said, “Well, if you don’t come here often – do you have a moment? I’d love to buy you a snack at one of my favorite places.”

Alexa didn’t miss a beat, responding both positively but not too overly enthusiastically. Appropriately for someone you’ve just met but are flirting with. “Sure, I’d love to,” she said, smiling and looking around as if she were making sure she wasn’t getting into something she couldn’t get out of, like any reasonable person who had just met someone might do.

So Shawn pointed up a block and a half at a place he knew the layout of (and, incidentally, had great calzones). Alexa nodded and they went into the place. He suggested a pasta dish, ordered one for her and one for him, handed a few Lyra to the cook, and took a seat at a table near the center of the restaurant. He noted several times when Alexa tried to get at where the book was stashed in Shawn’s clothes – disguised expertly as little flirtatuous touches on the arm, back, or side. He evaded them just as expertly. He also noted as they’d sat down that the cloaked person was sitting on the opposite side of the street, with a good vantage point of the door to the place. The tall fellow was nowhere to be seen; Shawn guessed that he’d moved around the back of the restaurant, to watch the back entrance.

The two of them talked about nothing in particular for a while – either the idle chat of two people with agendas, or the somewhat-meaningless pleasantries one always starts with when meeting someone new. And here came one of the tricky bits: when a server brought their order, Shawn slipped a little itching powder into Alexa’s food. The question was, how observant was she, and how good was his sleight of hand? Did she and her team know how well he was trained, or did they just expect him to be a simple courier?

He held his breath while trying not to look like he was doing so, and took a bite of his dish, waiting to see if she would do anything to avoid eating hers (which would have been a sign that she’d noticed what he’d done). Thankfully, she took a big, hearty bite. Shawn felt a little bad about his strategy, though he knew she’d only be itching for about ten minutes. And he didn’t feel *too* bad, since they were out to get him in the first place. And Thieves in Sardonia were willing to go to great lengths to satisfy their contracts.

After he’d watched her eat enough bites of the pasta that he knew she’d start feeling the effects in a few minutes, he said, “I’m going to hit the restroom for a minute; be right back. Wait for me?” he said, teasingly. He saw a look of alarm pass briefly through her eyes – she was probably not supposed to let him out of her sight – but she recovered quickly and smiled broadly (probably knowing that the entrances to the restaurant were being watched by her compatriots). “Of course. I’ve just got to know what else about this part of town you can tell me about.”

Shawn nodded and smiled back at her, and then headed to the back of the restaurant. He stopped briefly to speak to the server, saying, “My date isn’t feeling so well – I think she might be allergic to something she ate. Can you check in with her on the ingredients?” The server nodded at him, concerned, and moved off towards Alexa. Shawn continued to the back of the restaurant, thinking quickly. Tall-Fellow was likely loitering outside the back, watching the door. But Shawn happened to know that this restaurant had stairs inside leading up to the cook’s home, above. So he crept up the stairs until he could get to a window where he could quickly look out and see the lay of the land. Halfway up the stairs, he heard a commotion down in the dining area; the itching powder must have taken effect. It would be pretty strong when ingested, but the effects would fade more quickly; Shawn could still work with that.

Peering out the window, he saw Tall-Fellow stationed a few doors down in the alleyway. Shawn couldn’t make it that far without him noticing, but if he moved closer, Shawn could probably jump up and climb that trellis over there and get past him that way. 

Shawn ducked back down the stairs and walked out the back door, performing caution. He saw Tall-Fellow see him, and move purposely towards him. Shawn made as if to look panicked, and as he’d hoped, Tall-Fellow broke into a run to make sure Shawn didn’t dart back into the restaurant. Shawn pulled out a Super Glooey and threw it several feet away, just before Tall-Fellow got to that spot. 

Shawn again almost felt bad for the guy as he tripped and face-planted, his boots and now pants covered in the sticky stuff and totally adhered to the ground. Shawn took that moment to run past, jump over flailing arms that attempted to drag him down into the sticky mess, grab the trellis as he’d planned, and climb up, over, and past... then jumped down and ran light-footed until he came out the other end of the side street a few blocks over – hopefully blocks away from the front of the restaurant where Cloaked-One had been sitting, watching. 

The Super Glooey would last another ten minutes, he thought. And Cloaked-One would certainly try to find Shawn when he didn’t emerge from the restaurant (especially given the commotion, which might tip them off that Alexa had failed). Shawn needed to move fast enough to outpace the itching powder and the glue trap, and possibly Cloaked-One as well. He decided it was worth moving a bit faster for a few blocks until he got to a less questionable part of town.

So he broke into a cautious run, darting along side streets and then walking casually down main streets, until he’d found his way to the neighborhood he needed to deliver the book to.

And as he turned down the last side street, he was utterly shocked to feel a hand on his shoulder. He mentally cursed himself; he’d thought he’d avoided Cloaked-One well enough, had watched for pursuit, and had thought he’d been in the clear... 

Shawn turned, reaching into a pocket for a dagger and his Null runestone that would block Cloaked-One’s spells, and was both surprised and relieved to see that it was not Cloaked-One at all. It was someone who he’d never seen before and yet felt familiar. It only took a split second for him to identify the little curl of a smile under an unnecesarily wide handlebar moustache.

“Well met, Master,” Shawn said, smirking. Von Urwald smirked back at him. “And you, Herr O’Conner. That was well done, earlier.”

Shawn felt pleased with himself. “Thank you. But I imagine that’s not why you’re here.”

Master von Urwald shook his head. “No. Come with me.” Shawn obediently followed the head of his Rogue’s Guild several doors down and up to the roof of a building. The Master carefully leapt from one building to the next, and Shawn followed, slightly less gracefully.

Then the Master opened a door and they went downstairs into an abandoned upper apartment. These were upscale homes, but they often had multiple different dwellings, one on top of another, and this one was apparently currently vacant.

Then von Urwald turned to him. He said, “Shawn, the item you are delivering must never reach its destination.” Shawn started in surprise. The Master went on. “It is a book detailing some of the spells Aquino used to reach across to the Ancient Ones. The person who purchased it is someone who... should not have that knowledge.”

Shawn nodded. Then he said, “What should I do with the book?”

The Master sighed. He said, “I believe you should give the book to me, and I will bring it to the Librarian. He will file it with the forbidden books, or leave it with Mortuai in the dungeons.” Shawn nodded, satisfied. 

Then Shawn said, “And what should I tell the book-seller and the client? I’ll need to pay the cost if the item goes missing, and this is a very expensive item, if I understand right.” The Master appeared lost in thought. But then Shawn had an idea: “I can tell them the truth.” 

The Master looked at him sharply, possibly a little alarmed. Shawn smirked at him. “Or something close to it. I can tell them that I was caught by a Paladin and the item was confiscated as something unholy. That they told me I should report this transaction to the Magistrate. But I’m willing to do no such thing, particularly if I can still be compensated for my time.”

Von Urwald smiled slowly at him. He said, “That is an excellent idea, Herr O’Conner. But how will you convince them this is true?”

Shawn mused a moment. Then he said, “I think Professor Glenshannon wouldn’t mind if I used her name here, would she? And people know of her well enough to be afraid to cross her.”

The Master nodded. Then he smiled the toothy grin of a fox. “Hiding Roguery behind the truth. Very clever indeed, Herr O’Conner.” He paused and said, “I will warn Moira about this, in case someone actually looks into it.” Shawn nodded, pulled the book out of a pocket, and just before handing it to von Urwald, asked him: “If this is as dangerous as you’ve said, I just need to be sure: what was the item I stole from the break-in house that you forced me to return?”

Von Urwald looked at him sideways; Shawn thought he caught approval in the Master’s eyes. “A letter opener.” Shawn nodded in satisfaction and handed the book to him.

The Master tucked it away and then said to Shawn, “Herr O’Conner, I hope you’ve learned something from this. A Rogue should know what business he’s in, even when he’s doing other business. Take care to know what it is you are delivering, and from whom, and to whom.” Shawn nodded.

Von Urwald turned and left. Shawn did the same, off to make apologies to his clients. He was pleased to find that his charm was up to the task: they believed him, and he still got paid. That was something: usually when an item turned up missing (usually due to a Thief successfully grabbing it), it was up to the courier to pay for the lost item rather than getting paid for the delivery work. Lady Moira’s name was a good tool in this case.

So Shawn was particularly happy when he returned home that night for dinner with his mother. And even more pleased to remember that tonight was a Tuesday: Thomas would be joining them again. It was a pity they didn’t have privacy when he came over, because Shawn would love to have told Thomas about this bit of Rogue work he managed to do in the midst of his day job. Ah, well, hopefully they’d have time for that someday.


	24. Chapter 24

A few weeks later, Shawn and Thomas were sitting in Shawn's bed alcove at home, across from each other. Shawn looked speculatively at Thomas, thinking about the many weeks in a row he'd joined them on a Tuesday for dinner. 

That first night, Shawn had been a little nervous, not sure how his mother would react to a classmate from Hero-U. She'd been pleased that Shawn had graduated from a year of school, proud of him even. But he'd started to describe his friends to her, and she'd gotten a sort of suspicious look on her face. That was when he just went back to referring to the school more broadly. He realized it didn't sound like they were training to be heroes, when he described some of their class activities... it probably sounded suspiciously like Thieving. She hadn't said anything; Shawn guessed it was because she knew Master Von Urwald was in charge of the class, and she knew he'd discourage any actual thieving, but she was definitely displeased.

So when Thomas had knocked at the door, Shawn had jumped up a little too quickly, knocked over his chair, and then missed answering the door as his mother got there first.

And there he was; smartly dressed, practically exuding respectability. Shawn grinned at him, and went to stand by his mother. "Thomas, meet my mother, Nora. Mama, this is Thomas Kent." He watched as she took Thomas' extended hand and shook it firmly. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kent," she said.

Thomas nodded at her respectfully. "And a pleasure to meet you, too, Mrs. O'Conner." He drew his other hand from behind his back, and presented them with a nice little spray of flowers. "I brought these to lighten the table for dinner."

Shawn's mother exclaimed, smiling brightly at Thomas. "Oh, thank you, dear, these are just lovely!" Thomas bowed a little, handing them to her. As she went to put them in a vase, Thomas stepped into the house, Shawn shut the door behind him, and Thomas said, "I gathered them from the Turner's garden." Shawn looked at him in surprise; suddenly there was a sneaky gleam in Thomas' eyes that said to Shawn that the flowers were really for him. Shawn flushed a little and said, "That's... really nice, Thomas. I hadn't realized they had so many different kinds there."

Thomas had nodded, and the evening had progressed extremely smoothly. Thomas was of course a perfect gentleman, not arrogant at all, and Shawn's mother loved him. She was there the whole time, though, so there was no opportunity to sneak in a kiss or a snuggle. But it was still good to see him.

And then it had become a pattern... this was now the fifth week that Thomas had come to join them for dinner. And every time, he'd brought flowers. Shawn wondered if there were any left in the garden at this point. But they usually lasted all week between visits, so it meant that every day when Shawn came home from deliveries... there was that reminder that Thomas was thinking of him. It was nice.

Except today Thomas had arrived a little earlier than usual, along with profuse apologies for the potential inconvenience. Shawn had just shaken his head, smiling at him. "Mama's still at work; she'll be back in a bit. But she won't mind that you're here early. And... *I* don't mind that you're here early." He smirked at Thomas.

Thomas smiled back, and held out this week's bouquet, and Shawn went to empty last week's. "You know, Mama loves these... she dries them when you bring new ones," he said. He laid the old ones on the kitchen counter and put the new ones in fresh water. As he turned back to Thomas, though, he realized he'd kept one flower back: a rose, which he held out to Shawn.

"O-oh," he said, and stepped close to Thomas. This was the first time they'd been alone in a while. Thomas withheld the flower until Shawn was right next to him, and then raised it until the petals just brushed Shawn's cheek. 

Shawn wanted very much to say something funny and sarcastic to break the intensity of the moment, but nothing came to mind. The only thing that *did* come to mind was the desperately strong urge to grab Thomas and head straight for bed. Shawn managed to laugh a little, awkwardly.

Thomas smiled at him much more slyly than usual and said quietly, "This one is just for you."

Shawn shook his head, trying to clear it. "Well, then... I should get my own vase for it." He didn't immediately move to do so, though.

Thomas rested the rose on Shawn's chest, and then leaned in and kissed him. Shawn only had a moment to think to put the rose on the table before it would have been crushed between them. He pulled Thomas close and let the kiss linger for some time before Thomas stopped and said, "...I think you should actually put it in water."

"Put what...?" Shawn opened his eyes languidly, trying to work out what Thomas was talking about. "The rose," Thomas offered helpfully, laughing a little.

"Oh. Right." Shawn went and got a smaller vase and put the rose and some water in it. He hesitated a moment, and then said, "I should probably put it in my room. Mama doesn't go in there usually."

Thomas nodded. Shawn had thought he'd wait in the kitchen, but Thomas followed him to his room as Shawn put the vase in the windowsill.

He turned back to Thomas and said, "Of course, you must have been in here already, since you left the note."

Thomas smiled. "No, just leaned in through the window. I didn't need to actually come in."

Shawn wasn't sure what to say at this point. He cast around for a topic and eventually came up with "How's work going?"

Thomas looked around a little, shiftily. Shawn's reflexes immediately sharpened up; no longer drunk with the romance of the last few minutes, he was on alert. Why was Thomas suddenly cautious?

Thomas walked to Shawn's bedroom door and made to close it, asking, "May I?" Shawn nodded. "Of course." If it weren't for Thomas' sudden caution, Shawn would have wondered just what was about to happen behind closed doors. Thomas nodded at the open window, and Shawn went to close it.

Then Thomas went to Shawn's bed and said, "May I sit?" Shawn, utterly baffled, nodded and came and joined Thomas on the bed. They sat side by side at the edge, and then Thomas said to him, "Work is fine."

Shawn snorted. "And you needed utter secrecy to tell me that?"

Thomas looked at him with such a serious look that Shawn shut up right away. Thomas went on, "It's fine, for the moment. When I told you before that I work for the magistrate... well, it's a bit of a Rogue assignment."

Now Shawn's focus was all on Thomas' words. Rogue business needed all one's attention. "Tell me," he said.

Thomas nodded, and said, "I spoke with Master Von Urwald about my plans for after the school term was over. He was the one who suggested that perhaps I could take a job working for the magistrate." Shawn said, "Ah."

Thomas went on, "The Master has no reason to suspect the magistrate of wrong-doing, but... there have been certain events going on, systematically, throughout the city, that have left him wondering. He thought I would be the ideal person to keep an eye on the magistrate's dealings."

Shawn nodded. "You are a good choice for that," he said. Thomas flushed a little at the compliment, and nodded. "So... so far, so good. I haven't seen anything suspicious. But... I wanted to take care in sharing this information with you."

Shawn said, "Of course. Thank you for trusting me with it."

Thomas looked a little surprised. "Who else could I trust with it?" he asked. It was Shawn's turn to flush just a little.

Shawn said, "Well, feel free to make yourself more comfortable." Thomas smiled at him, and then slipped his nice shoes off and put them at the foot of the bed, and scooched back against the side of the bed alcove.

As he did so, Shawn heard his mother enter the house. She called, loudly enough to be heard through the closed door, "G'd evening, boys!" The two of them called good evening back to her. Shawn thought, of course she knows Thomas is here: she's seen the fresh flowers, and it is Tuesday, after all. He glanced over at the rose on the windowsill and flushed a bit. He called out to his mother, "Want some help with dinner?"

She called back, "No, I'll just warm last night's stew, if that's all right with Master Thomas?"

Thomas' turn to call out: "That's lovely, thank you, Mrs. O'Conner."

Shawn smiled at Thomas and scooched back into the opposite side of the bed alcove. And there they sat, across from each other, quiet for a moment while Shawn pondered the last couple of months that had brought them to this moment. After a while, the silence had stretched on a little too long, and he was again not sure what to say, so he reached for Thomas' right hand.

Thomas let Shawn take it, and Shawn first rubbed the palm with his thumbs, easing away tension that had clearly built up there. Shawn was surprised to find so much tension in Thomas' hand, but then, if his job was to transcribe and translate, that was a lot of writing, and Thomas *was* right-handed, after all. And Rogues needed their hands to be dexterous and resilient... too much tension might mean that you could seize up when you were in the middle of picking a critical lock or disarming a difficult trap. Though things were quieter now that they weren't at Hero-U, one still needed to be ready for those situations. Now that they were both members of the Rogues' Guild, they could be called upon at any time to swing into action. And who knew if Thomas might discover something at work that needed Rogue reflexes.

As Shawn rubbed his hand, Thomas closed his eyes, leaned his head back against the alcove, and sighed. After a few minutes of that, Shawn reached further up, to Thomas' wrist -- which was indeed slenderer than he'd really noticed before: if he tried, he could probably encircle it with his thumb and forefinger -- and pulled lightly on the edge of the glove. Thomas' eyes flew open and he looked at Shawn cautiously. 

Thomas, even now, was still wary about these things. Every little bit of the disguise that came off was another little bit of a barrier that came down... Shawn always tried to be careful not to push too hard. At any rate, Thomas didn't usually seem uncomfortable after a first moment of wariness while he decided what he was willing to try.

So Shawn waited, raising his eyebrows at Thomas. After a short pause, during which Thomas seemed to be calculating, he sighed and nodded at Shawn.

Shawn gently slid the glove off Thomas' hand. He continued to massage the palm, the space between fingers, the meaty part between thumb and forefinger, and, scooching closer on the bed, eased some of the tension in Thomas' wrist, too. As he did so, he realized that Thomas' hands were notably more delicate than his own. Thomas' fingers tapered more and his nails were thinner, though he clearly kept them trimmed very short. His hands might not have been an immediate give-away of Thomas' biological gender, but with people like Joel and Katie around, someone would have noticed. Shawn understood now, why Thomas had always kept the gloves on. But it must make picking locks that much harder.

He gently placed Thomas' right hand on his leg, and reached for the other hand. This time Thomas didn't hesitate; instead, he was smiling, a little eagerly, as he put his other hand in Shawn's. Shawn knew he'd gotten pretty good at giving hand massages... he thought a little guiltily that he'd had the most practice with Joel, but he reminded himself Joel didn't mind sharing the wealth. And if Shawn kept his skills up, Joel would benefit too when he got back here.

Shawn had a fleeting moment of sorrow, missing that other part of him. Thomas and Joel were very different people, and fed different aspects of him. But, Joel would be back in another four months after the summer was over. And Thomas was here now, and was extremely rewarding to be with, just in very different ways.

Shawn took Thomas' left hand and did the same as he had to the right; massaged it with the glove on for a few minutes, and then removed the glove. Shawn gave a quick glance at Thomas' face as he did, but Thomas was paying no attention to the details anymore: leaned back, eyes closed, blissful smile curving his lips -- clearly just enjoying the physical pleasure. Shawn wondered briefly what he'd look like when enjoying other kinds of more intense physical pleasure... but then turned his thoughts back to the hand massage. One thing he was extremely sure about was that he wasn't comfortable going too fast with Thomas. In fact, it was almost the exact opposite of how it had been with Joel. They'd been messing around from almost the beginning of their romantic relationship. But developing this relationship with Thomas... just clearly needed more care.

So Shawn just massaged Thomas' other hand, until eventually he felt he'd done about the same work on it as the other one. Then he took a moment again to look at Thomas' hands. He idly raised one of his to Thomas', spreading out his palm, slowly touching his fingertips to Thomas', matching them digit by digit.

Thomas opened his eyes and watched as Shawn turned their hands this way and that, looking at how the shapes changed. Shawn let his thoughts drift, just enjoying the light pressure of Thomas' fingers against his. Which was one of the reasons he was surprised when Thomas abruptly interlaced those fingers with Shawn's, and leaned over to kiss him. But it wasn't the only reason for surprise.

Every time Thomas kissed him, Shawn was expecting something like the last time, because Thomas was so shy, so slow to move, most of the time. But each time so far when they’d kissed, it was Thomas pushing the limits. The last several times it had been increasingly serious than the first; but this time there was an eagerness, and much more of the physical desire than there'd been before.

It was a good thing that there were a lot of pillows at the end of the bed Shawn was laying against, because as the kiss intensified, Thomas actually pushed him back against them. Maybe it was the privacy of a room with a door? Or maybe just that they were closer now, or that Thomas had met Shawn's mother so that made things more 'real'? But Thomas was displaying a kind of abandon that Shawn didn't usually associate with him.

So much so that when Thomas paused for breath, Shawn actually scooched up in the bed and held Thomas away from him a little. He tried to gauge the look in his counterpart's eyes; making sure this seemed consistent with everything else he knew of Thomas.

Thomas was looking at him with a smile that was several notches more mischievous than Shawn was used to. Shawn cleared his throat, and said a little unsteadily, "So... um... you seem a little more ...interested... than usual."

Thomas leaned back and crossed his arms. "Is that a problem?" Shawn laughed. "Not for me... I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable with how this seems to be going."

Thomas frowned at him. Then he sighed and reached up to remove the moustache and goatee. He looked around for a place to put them, and in the end just stuck them on the bedpost. Shawn chuckled. Some people put notches on their bedposts...

Then Thomas surprised him again by removing his jacket. He carefully folded it and set it on his shoes by the foot of the bed; then slid himself up next to Shawn and looked down at him seriously. 

He seemed to be considering what to say. Shawn couldn't help himself as he waited, and reached up to stroke Thomas' cheek. Thomas closed his eyes at Shawn's touch, lost for a moment, but then opened them again and said, "You can't tell me what's right for me, any more than my mother or father can." Shawn nodded and said, "Of course. I just want to make sure you didn't, I don't know, get carried away, and do something you weren't ready for."

Thomas looked almost a little cross, then a little sad. "Are you... not interested in continuing?" he asked.

Shawn almost barked the laugh out. "Of course I am!" he said, and let the hand that had stroked Thomas' cheek slide down Thomas' shirtsleeved arm to rest on his waist just above his hip. Which did have more of a curve than you'd notice when he was wearing the jacket. "Are you sure this is what you want?" Shawn asked again.

Thomas pursed his lips for a moment, clearly a little distracted with Shawn's hand, but also thinking quite hard. Shawn knew that look. He felt certain that whatever Thomas said next, it would be well-considered, not from the heat of the moment. That, by itself, reassured him.

At length, the sparkle reappeared in Thomas' eyes and he said, "Thank you for your courtesy, Shawn. It's... one of the reasons I trust you as I do." Shawn raised his eyebrows, and said, "You're welcome."

Thomas continued, "And yes, this is what I want. I'm... not sure just how far I want to go, right now, but... maybe it was the hand massage. I couldn't stop thinking about what it would feel like if you touched me in other places."

Shawn was literally open-mouthed at this admission. Thomas chuckled. "I know that seems extremely forward, especially for me. But... surely you know that I am capable of being quite forceful, when something is important to me." Shawn shut his mouth and nodded. Of course that was true... this was after all the person who had run away and enrolled at Hero-U under false pretenses in order to seek the life he wanted rather than submit to someone else's rules for him -- even when that ran counter to every Paladin-oriented instinct that he had. This part of Thomas hadn't turned up very much in their romantic interactions so far, but... maybe it wasn't so inconsistent, after all.

Thomas was watching him as he thought this over. Eventually Thomas leaned down, closer, and added, "So, if you're willing, then... I'd like to explore a little bit more." Shawn looked up at him and nodded again. "Extremely willing," he said, shifting his hand on Thomas' hip, pulling him closer.

Thomas smiled, and leaned down to kiss him. And Shawn found himself completely unworried about where they stood or what was all right, as Thomas proceeded to lead most capably in the direction he wanted to go. It wasn't just out of consideration for Thomas' boundaries... it was genuinely extremely pleasurable to just do what Thomas murmured softly in his ear, mostly directing Shawn where to put his hands, and to give himself to whatever Thomas was doing to him, which was mostly undressing him and exploring various parts of him with hands and occasionally lips. He gladly surrendered and completely lost track of time... and was therefore quite startled by the loud knock at the door.

His mother's voice from the common room was only slightly muffled by the closed door; she was right on the other side. "Dinner's ready, boys." Shawn and Thomas looked at each other with a mixture of smugness and guilt. "I forgot about dinner," Thomas whispered.

"Me, too," Shawn whispered back. He raised his voice and added, "We'll be out in a few minutes, Mama."

"Don't be too long, it'll get cold, it will," his mother said. "All right," Shawn called after her.

Thomas giggled a little as they tried to disentangle their limbs from each other. There were a few stray kisses as they eventually succeeded and got clothing put back in order. Thomas had put his jacket back on, and they were just about to open the door when Shawn started. "Oh! You forgot..." and pointed at his mouth. Thomas looked briefly confused, but then his smile faded into shock as he realized what Shawn meant. He dashed back to the bed and grabbed his fake moustache and goatee and quickly put them back on. Shawn stepped close and adjusted them just a little. Thomas' eyes were fixed on his as he did it; Shawn couldn't help himself and kissed Thomas one more time, deep, long, and almost enough to undo the resolve to leave the room. 

But Shawn's mother made some noise in the kitchen, and they broke apart, each giving the other a little once-over, tugging clothes in place, brushing hair straight, and then giving the okay.

As they walked back out into the main room of the house, Shawn thought his mother gave him a look that was just a little too *knowing*, but she was at least courteous enough to not say anything.

"Here you are, boys," she said, and set out the food. Shawn briefly pined for Chef Ifetaya's cooking, but his mother's wasn't bad, even when it was a day old, and they tucked in.


	25. Chapter 25

When he got the letter from Joel asking if he could come stay for a day or two, Shawn was almost beside himself. He hadn't expected to see Joel for another two months, but here he was saying he had business in Sardonia, if only for a few days. He said he was happy to get a room at an inn, but made the suggestion that "if it wouldn't be too much trouble, perhaps it could be mutually beneficial if I brought some luxury consumables to exchange for room and board for those few days."

Shawn's mother had been interested in the fact that Shawn had received a letter -- they didn't often receive correspondence. She'd exclaimed that the handwriting was so nice. Shawn had looked at it, immediately recognized whose handwriting it was, and thought to himself, anything that elegant but precise had to be Joel, of course. So she was hovering over him when he read the letter.

He looked up at her. "Mama, can Joel come stay with us in two weeks for a few days? He said he'd provide some nice food in exchange." She looked doubtful for a moment, so Shawn added, "I can vouch for the quality of his wares."

She gave him a strange look, and he suddenly realized he was smirking. Of course he'd been thinking of the quality of... several things, when he'd said it. And he really needed to pay more attention to how much more perceptive his mother was than he'd realized.

She sat down at the table across from him, and said, "I don't doubt that it's nice'n all. This Joel is the one from school?"

She continued to seem doubtful, and Shawn reminded himself that she still wasn't convinced that everyone was on the level from his Disbarred Bards class. Of course he still couldn't tell her about being a Rogue rather than a Thief, but he *had* said to her that Master Von Urwald had had a talk with him at the end of the term, and Shawn's plan was to uphold his fathers' final judgment on thieves. She'd seemed to believe him... and when Thomas visited, he was so clearly a nice boy (they didn't come nicer, after all) that she hadn't raised the question again. But Joel... Shawn realized that Joel would not come across to his mother as anything other than he was, for all intents and purposes: a thief and a fence, an expert salesman. Shawn knew, of course, that Joel was every bit a Rogue as he was, but that still wasn't how he appeared to anyone outside of their Disbarred Bards class.

So what Shawn said was, "Yes, he is one of my classmates. He's a bit... smoother than Thomas, though. He's a merchant by trade, so that's why he says he can bring nice food."

She still looked doubtful, but Shawn could feel all sorts of excitement brewing in him at the thought of seeing Joel again, and eventually his mother succumbed to his rather apparent enthusiasm. "All right, all right, your friend can come stay with us for a few days."

And Joel did not disappoint. When he finally arrived at their door, it turned out he'd brought two different bottles of very excellent wine, and a number of fancy preserved fruits, meats, and other foods from all over Glorianna.

But that wasn't the first order of business. When Shawn's mother opened the door and Joel stood there, Shawn got up from the table and found himself smirking like an idiot. As their eyes met, Joel's mouth curved into the sly smile he knew so well, and Shawn's heart skipped a beat or two as he remembered what that smile usually meant. But there was only the barest of pauses before Joel looked away to Shawn's mother and said, "Mrs. O'Conner, I presume? My deepest gratitude for your hospitality."

Shawn came to stand next to his mother at the door and was amused to see her cheeks flush slightly. Joel was smooth, all right. 

"Oh! Oh, it's... it's nothing," she stammered as Joel bowed slightly, took her hand and kissed it. "Joel Kyro, at your service. It's a pleasure to meet you after all this time." Shawn's mother cast a look back at Shawn that said something like, you didn't tell me he was this charming! and then stepped aside, gesturing for Joel to come in.

Joel stepped in, set his bag down gently just inside the door, and then threw his arms around Shawn. Shawn, surprised, wrapped his arms around Joel in return. Joel drawled in his ear, low enough for Shawn's mother not to hear, "I've missed you, Herr O'Conner."

Shawn chuckled and replied quietly. "And I you, Herr Kyro."

It felt so good to hold Joel in his arms again after so long that Shawn almost forgot his mother was there. But then he let go, and said, "Shall we see what you've brought, to compensate us for our hospitality?"

They set about unpacking Joel's bag, and by the time they were done, amid idle chatter about each item, they began preparing dinner. Or rather, Joel sat at the kitchen table, drinking one of the fine wines out of a thick glass (the nicest one Shawn's mother owned) and told them news from across the world, while Shawn and his mother prepared dinner. Shawn was surprised at his mother's knowledge of both the quality food items (including the wine), and some of the world news. But then, he had to remind himself that his parents had been quite well off when his father was alive. Shawn had grown up poor in contrast to that past, and had never known any different.

At any rate, the food was fantastic. Shawn particularly liked the dried mushrooms, soaked in water and a little bit of wine, and then added to the potatoes like a kind of broth. He was glad his mother had splurged recently and had real butter, because that made the potato-mushroom soup truly worthy of Joel's contribution. After a meal a cut above the usual fare in the O'Conner household -- and the washing of the dishes, which reminded Shawn more than usual of working for Chef Ifetaya all those months at Hero-U, maybe because of the fancier food -- Shawn settled in next to Joel at the table with his own glass of wine. His mother joined them after drying the last of the dishes, and the conversation turned to sleeping arrangements.

Shawn's mother pointed at Joel and said, "You can have Shawn's room. We want guests to be as comfortable as we can manage."

Shawn exclaimed, "Where will I sleep?" His mother looked at him reprovingly. "We'll put some blankets by the fire, should be just fine. *You* should be willing to sacrifice for guests *you* yourself invited, Shawn O'Conner." Shawn snorted protestingly.

Joel caught Shawn's eye with a quick sideways glance and chuckled. "No, no, Mrs. O'Conner, Shawn shouldn't give up his room, I'm sure he can sleep on the floor in there just as easily, yes?"

Shawn's mother crossed her arms, but then nodded. "Just as long as you're comfortable, Mr. Kyro."

"Joel, please, Mrs. O'Conner," he said. "And yes, I'm sure I will be... most comfortable with the accommodations." Shawn ignored the obvious intimations meant for him in that statement, and instead trained his focus on his mother, who had flushed a little again at Joel's smooth manners.

Shawn cleared his throat. "Joel, you didn't happen to bring a deck of cards, did you?" Joel's eyes twinkled. "Of course. You know I wouldn't travel without one."

And so they played several rounds of Cribbage, until Shawn's mother began to yawn, and told them, "I'm off to bed. Shawn, you can show Joel the amenities." Shawn nodded as she got up, dropped a fond little kiss on his cheek, and wished them good night. The door to her bedroom shut behind her with a soft bang.

Alone, finally, Joel leaned over and placed his hands over Shawn's where they rested on the newly shuffled cards. Shawn turned his hands over to clasp Joel's back. "So, how have you been?" Joel asked.

Shawn chuckled, and said, "Well... as you can see, my means are still humble." Joel laughed, too. 

"Well, if you're not to be a Thief, then there's less money to be made," Joel said.

Shawn nodded ruefully. "Yes. But... it's important to me to follow what Master Von Urwald taught us, and what my father decided. Not just because they said so, mind you..."

Joel laughed again. "Of course not." 

Shawn continued, "Really, because I found out for myself how good it feels to be a hero." He squeezed Joel's hands, and Joel squeezed back, harder. They were both thinking of the rescue, which was the first truly heroic act either of them had been involved in.

Shawn continued, "Not that I've been called on for much, yet. Just a few small things, here and there. I’ve had a few little adventures, a couple close calls. How about you?" Joel shook his head. "No, I did get one request but I was too far away to do anything. I was able to pass it on to a slightly-more-reputable-than-usual member of a local Thieves' guild, with enough payment to ensure that the job was done right, but... I didn't do it myself."

"Seems like you did do a bit of Roguery, though, if you made sure it was done right," Shawn reasoned. Joel shrugged. He said, "One advantage, of course, for me, is that even with Rogue ideals, I can still make a little money as I go. So I can afford a few bottles of good wine here and there." Shawn chuckled. "Yes, I can see that. Or rather, taste it."

Joel let go of Shawn's hands and leaned back in his chair to sip his wine. "It *is* good, isn't it?" he asked. 

Shawn nodded. "Mmmm," he agreed, taking a sip of his own wine. It was still not his strong suit, evaluating fine wine, but he could still tell this was fairly fancy. It didn't burn hardly at all, and even Shawn could taste many subtle flavors, though he couldn't name them. It was enjoyable, and they sat companionably for a few moments.

Then Joel said, "I have a... silly request to ask of you." Shawn raised his eyebrows. "Can I... can I just *see* the raven statue?" Shawn laughed. "Of course."

Joel went on, "Why don't we... retire for the evening, and you can show me then?" Shawn's pulse rate increased just a bit at the thought, and he grinned at Joel. "That's a fantastic idea," he said.

So they made ready for bed, and retired to Shawn's room. Shawn went to the secret compartment he'd made for the statue, and carefully obscured what he was doing as he disarmed the trap and retrieved the statue. Joel had been just as careful with him in the past, so Shawn trusted he wouldn't take it personally. Plus, Joel might still have figured it out -- he was that good a Disbarred Bard. But it was good practice to keep it hidden.

And there it was, the symbol of authority over all thieves in Sardonia. Which his father had once held. Which his father and uncle had fought over; and in the fight his father had fallen to his death. He sighed softly, looking down at it in his hands. It was so small, for all that. He went to the bed, where Joel sat, and handed him the statue. Joel, eyes wide, took it from him and spent quite some time examining it. At length, he said teasingly, "You know, if it had been *anyone* else who had thwarted my goals..."

Shawn chuckled at him. "Sorry about that. You know I didn't find it until the day before we all left for the summer." Joel said, "I know."

"I would have told you, if I'd found it sooner," he added. Joel looked up at him with something unidentifiable in his eyes. He said again, "I know."

Then he sighed, and held the statue back out to Shawn. "Here. It's too hard not to contemplate sneaking it away from you, if I look at it any longer. I don't want to betray you like that, but the pressure to find it is... still considerable."

Shawn looked at him sadly, took the statue, wrapped it back in its cloth, and then carefully hid it again. He was fairly certain he could trust Joel; he essentially owed Shawn a life-debt, in addition to the trust associated with their romantic relationship. But it was hard to contemplate the deviousness Joel was still capable of. And it was a little bit of a cause for concern, how Joel was still feeling pressure to find the statue. Was it someone in the Thieves' Guild back home, who was still asking about it? Joel had got over letting Sosi boss him around, but those he worked with back home may well have been even more powerful... Well, in any case, he did trust Joel. And he hoped that Joel would ask for help if he needed it. He certainly knew Shawn would do anything in his power to help him. 

So as Shawn returned to the bed, he said, "Let me know, if you're getting in any trouble about it. Maybe there's something we could cook up to improve the situation."

Joel nodded, and then they were both silent for a few minutes. Then Joel got a gleam in his eye and said, "So, how is it going with our fair Thomas?" Shawn started at his directness, and then saw the humor in Joel's eyes. That had been for effect; a sudden change in topic, meant to lighten the mood, to catch him off-guard. Shawn found himself blushing, though, at the thought of Thomas.

Joel said, "Ahh... well, I see!" Shawn looked at him witheringly. "Yes, as a matter of fact, quite well," Shawn admitted.

Joel nodded, said, "I'm quite glad to hear it," with a sly smile. But then he looked down, suddenly serious. After a moment, he said, "I... don't suppose you asked him how he felt about you and I..."

Shawn reached out and took Joel's hand. "I did. He said it was all right."

This time when Joel looked up, there was the shine of desire in his eyes. "I am exceedingly glad to hear that. I am fond of the fellow, but... I was *so* hoping that we could continue our... activities together." Shawn smirked assent at him.

Joel went on: "In fact, this is really quite enough small talk. You know what I'm really here for."

Shawn laughed at him, inched closer to Joel on the bed, and traced a finger under Joel's chin, past his ear, down his neck. "Not for my scintillating company?" he asked teasingly, meeting Joel’s eyes.

"Not only that," Joel said, and then kissed him. Shawn wasn't prepared for the force of the feelings and sensations that went with having missed Joel all this time. Particularly because things were so different with Thomas, and caution seemed so important as they slowly worked their way towards greater intimacy... he hadn't realized what the contrast would feel like. But as usual, Joel was clearly feeling just as strongly as he was, and moving against him in ways that just made the feelings grow.

After a moment, Joel stopped kissing him and said, "*And* I brought a few gifts for you... for us to try out." Joel opened a little bag Shawn hadn't seen when he was unpacking, and showed him a number of items and materials which were... quite intriguing. Shawn looked at them for a moment, said, "I'm definitely interested, but..." and then didn't even bother trying to talk anymore. He just reached for Joel and didn't let go, until much much later that night.

Over the next day and a half, there was time for more cooking, some walking around the city, more card games... even a brief visit to Katie over at her tavern for a couple of quick rounds of Poobah. Katie was doing well, and was an even sharper Poobah player than she had been. She seemed happy to see them: she poked fun at Shawn for not visiting enough, and at Joel for not asking to stay at the inn, though she also seemed just as glad not to have had the complication. It was good to see her, though, and Shawn made a mental note to stop by the tavern more often.

And during the nights, there was plenty of time for playing with the toys Joel had brought. Shawn found himself trying things with Joel that they'd never done before; delightful, intimate things. More than once he had to muffle a cry of pleasure in a pillow for fear that his mother might hear him next door. Joel, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly how to experience extreme pleasure without making a sound, or only making little noises that Shawn alone could hear. They were just as erotic as anything he’d let slip when they were alone in Joel’s store-room, though... and maybe even more so.

At one point, Joel murmured in his ear, “Mmm, how naughty of you...” Shawn had grinned, murmured back, “Well, a Rogue has to use all options at their disposal in order to do Good, right?” Joel gasped softly as Shawn continued the option in question, and agreed. “Hard to argue with that...” he managed.

It was some of the best sleep Shawn had had in a while, too. Not just that they were both sated and deeply relaxed after their nightly activities, but there was something comforting about having company as you fell asleep, or if you woke up in the middle of the night. Shawn noted that Joel didn’t seem to have nightmares anymore, which was a relief, too. Shawn thought to himself, it was good to have this time with him. He’d missed Joel more than he realized.


	26. Chapter 26

But of course the time passed too quickly, and it was extremely difficult to admit on the last day that it was time for Joel to leave. He was also leaving midday, in full view of Shawn's mother, so Shawn had to satisfy himself with just a brief hug.

After Shawn had wished Joel goodbye (for another two months!) he turned back to the house and went in to the kitchen, sat down heavily at the table, and watched his mother gather up and bring some vegetables and the cutting board to him. Shawn reached for them and began deftly slicing carrots. Chef Ifetaya hadn't actually taught him anything cooking-related, but Rogue dexterity with knives was still good for something, even when there weren't many jobs at hand. And it was good to practice the skills, in some way or another. His mother always seemed a little suspicious of his skills with a knife, but never commented on it.

She did seem to want to comment on something else, though. "Shawn O'Conner, we need to have a talk," she began.

He looked up, surprised. She didn't seem angry, exactly, more sad, possibly disappointed. "About what?"

"Well..." she looked down. Trying to find the words, he thought. Though it was true that she sometimes had trouble articulating what she was thinking, she was no simpleton. Shawn knew from experience to give her some time to think about what she wanted to say.

Eventually she looked him straight in the eye, with a surprisingly piercing seriousness. "I try to leave you on your own, yeah? You're as near grown as anyone can be."

Shawn nodded hesitantly and sliced another carrot, keeping his eyes on her, confident of his knife strokes even without looking. She didn't like it when he did that, but he needed something to do with his hands. He didn't know where this was going.

"But... I can't help but notice -- that Joel." She paused a moment, shaking her head and coloring a little in the cheeks, no doubt thinking of Joel's demeanor, "He was very fond of you." Shawn smirked a little before he could stop himself. "You could say that, yes," he admitted.

"VERY fond," she added meaningly, leaning forward on the kitchen table.

Shawn was suddenly worried. So, she'd figured out that they were romantically involved. They hadn't been particularly good at hiding it; it had been too long since they'd seen each other. But why should that bother her? He didn't think of his mother as a judgmental person, unless you were talking Thieving. And Joel had come across as much more reputable than usual, Shawn thought, quickly mentally reviewing the visit.

"You know who else seems very fond of you," his mother went on. "That sweet Thomas."

Oh. *That's* what this was about, he thought to himself. Shawn almost felt a bit relieved. Of course, that relationship must be clear enough to his mother, too. Thomas was here nearly every week on Tuesday nights for dinner. He and Thomas didn't always mess around before dinner like that one time, but Shawn realized they hadn't been as careful as they could have either. Really, it was a failure on all three of their parts as Rogues. Maybe in matters of love, it was harder to be circumspect. But would his mother understand, if he explained? 

He sighed. He'd better try. He knew how she was when she disapproved of something. And that was even before he knew about his father's shift from Thieving to Roguery at her insistence. If she was going to disapprove of either of his relationships, or the fact that there were two of them...

So he said, "Thomas and Joel know each other." 

Nora frowned and said, "O'course they do. You're all classmates, aren't you?"

Shawn started to laugh a little, but then stifled it at her look; she was really deadly serious on this topic. He wondered about that for just a moment before he replied, "Yes, we are, but I mean they both know about my involvement with the other. They're both all right with it."

She seemed confused for a moment, so he just continued chopping carrots while she worked through it.

Eventually she said, "Are you sure Thomas..." she gestured a little vaguely at Shawn. She didn't seem to know how to put it.

Shawn nodded at her, trying to smile encouragingly. Best just give her more information. "Yes, I check in with them both about it. I told Thomas that Joel would be here, the week when I got the letter and he was here with us for dinner the next night, remember?" His mother nodded slowly. "I asked Thomas if he was all right with Joel staying here with me, and he said it was fine. I didn't send the letter back to Joel until the day after I had checked with Thomas." His mother’s deadly-serious look lightened a little as she remembered the timing. 

Shawn *had* wanted to confirm with Thomas that it would be all right. Because it was pretty certain that a visit with Joel would involve certain activities, and because things had developed further with Thomas since the original discussions, it felt important to check again. Thomas had seemed slightly uncertain about it at first; Shawn had said he could tell Joel that they'd have to take it easy on the intimacy. But Thomas had gazed at him for a moment and then said, "Shawn, I don't know if you can see it, but when Joel looks at you... he looks at you with such adoration. I can imagine how he felt, after you saved his life. And... I know how I feel about you now. I don't want to deprive either of you of the ability to be together -- however you want to be together." He'd said it in that serious way that Shawn was confident meant Thomas'd thought it through carefully. So it was only after he'd had that confirmation that he'd written back to Joel. Thomas also seemed to have some business out of town the week that Joel was there; Shawn didn't ask about that, but it did mean he had more attention for Joel, which was nice because he saw him so infrequently now.

But Shawn’s mother was still looking at him expectantly. So, though she seemed less concerned about Joel than about Thomas, he completed the explanation: "I wasn't expecting to see Joel this summer, and he knew I would be spending time with Thomas because he's stayed in town. Joel said he was a little jealous that Thomas would get so much more time with me, but it made sense for me to pursue the relationship with Thomas when Joel wasn't even around. In fact, just now, he even asked me how it's been going with Thomas. You might have noticed that Thomas is... a bit more shy than Joel."

That actually got a short laugh from her. She'd had time to get to know Thomas, of course, and even though she'd only met Joel the once, he had clearly made a strong enough impression that the absurdity of the understatement caught her by surprise.

"And? What did you tell him?" she asked, now smiling a little. Shawn realized that this was a lot more information about his personal life than he'd ever shared with his mother before. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about that, but maybe she deserved to know. Both of these people were extremely important to him, after all. And while he'd wanted to shut her out of his life back when he was trying to be a Thief, back before Hero-U and the Rogues' Guild, he found that now he did feel a desire to tell her about the things and people who were important to him. So he said what he'd said to Joel: "It's going quite well," and didn't bother to hide his smirk.

His mother chortled just a little. "You know, your Da was always quite the cad, before he settled down with me. Good-looking man, and charming as all get out, just like you." Shawn flushed a deep red, as much from the comparison to his father as the compliment itself. Of course, Shawn had only seen paintings and the ghostly version of his father. But he did seem to have been an attractive fellow. Shawn gave a moment of silent thanks for having inherited it from him.

Nora shook her head, still chuckling. "Well, if you tell me you're being responsible about it, I suppose I just ought to trust you, Shawn O'Conner. It seems like you've been careful. ...You *stay* careful, now. No breaking hearts."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, just like he had as a child.

She got up from the table and went to get a bowl for the chopped carrots and to set the water on to start the stew. She said over her shoulder, "I suppose you're lucky, eh, that they're both boys. No worries about ending up with a lot of mouths to feed!"

It was a good thing she was facing away from him, because Shawn was pretty sure he hadn't hid his reaction regarding his mother's assumptions about the biological genders of his partners. He didn't want to divulge that part of things yet. Thomas had remained Thomas, moustache and all, when in his mother's presence. So Shawn said, "Y-yes, that's true," and focused on scooping the carrots into the bowl and then starting on peeling the potatoes. Fortunately she seemed to have moved on, and began singing a tune from Eire -- one she'd sung since he was a child. That seemed to be the end of the conversation, and Shawn breathed a quiet sigh of relief, focused on peeling potatoes, and basked in the remaining glow of Joel's visit. It might end up being a while between visits, but Joel had made this one count. He knew how to have a good time, that was for sure.


	27. Chapter 27

Shawn went to bed one evening and found another note tucked under his pillow, the edge of the paper just barely peeking out. It said, "Meet me here tomorrow afternoon when your mother is out."

He quickly calculated what Thomas must mean; Thomas had been spending enough time at the O'Conner household to know that Shawn's mother would go out to buy a few things in the afternoon, usually around three or four pm. He mentally cursed for a moment when he remembered that he had a delivery to make around that time tomorrow. Could he do it earlier in the day? The delivery in question was from the bakery down the street, and it was likely they'd make the items just before they would be delivered so they'd still be fresh. Well, he thought, he'd just show up at the bakery first thing tomorrow morning and see if he could do the delivery a little earlier. The delivery location wasn't that far from his home, so he might make it back in time. He went to sleep wondering what it was Thomas needed to tell him that couldn't wait for next Tuesday.

The next morning, the bakery manager said the delivery couldn't be rescheduled, but another courier happened to be there at the same time to pick up a morning delivery, and said they could do the afternoon delivery. Shawn sighed -- he'd hoped to keep the job, as money was particularly tight this month -- but let the other courier take the afternoon delivery.

The baker must have seen his reaction, because he offered Shawn a slightly lower-paying delivery for the morning. He gratefully accepted, thinking to himself that it was useful to be a trusted worker... having a good reputation meant that things like this happened. And it felt good, too. It wouldn't have been like that if I were a Thief, he thought.

At any rate, morning business done and a small lunch hastily made and consumed, mother bid goodbye for her afternoon errands, Shawn waited at the table until there was a knock at the door.

As he opened it, and Thomas stood there, just as he expected, Shawn still felt his heart beat hard, once, at the sight of him. Thomas was wearing his nice clothes and an extremely serious look, but when he saw Shawn, a corner of his mouth twitched upwards and that mischievous twinkle appeared in his eyes.

"Herr Kent, good afternoon," Shawn said, and let Thomas in.

Thomas bowed and stepped inside. As soon as the door was shut, Thomas looked around to see if any windows were open. Shawn realized immediately that this was Rogue business and not some clandestine tryst. He preemptively said, "Mama is out, as you planned, and if you let me close my bedroom window, all the windows and doors will be shut." Thomas nodded, still looking quite serious.

Shawn went to his room, shut the window, and as he came back to the kitchen table, he noticed Thomas looking just a little longingly at Shawn's bed. It was true, they hadn't had any time alone in a long time, and this was just such an opportunity... as Shawn's thoughts wandered to just what they might do with a little time alone, Thomas clearly made an effort to marshal his thoughts, and gestured to the table.

"Let's sit. The Master has a job for us."

At the mention of Master Von Urwald, Shawn immediately snapped back into sharp focus. Yes, Rogue business, all right.

They sat at the table, and Thomas explained how his job had been going. Shawn had heard the mundane bits of the official part of Thomas' job as scribe to the magistrate, over dinner on Tuesday nights. But without privacy, Thomas hadn't updated him on the more clandestine aspects of his job. The Master's assessment of the magistrate was accurate, Thomas told Shawn. She did not herself engage in anything nefarious. However, she was ignoring the signs that something was going wrong in the administration and accounting in the northern part of the island. The magistrate of the capital city did not technically have authority over other parts of Sardonia, but she certainly had influence and she’d seemed to prefer to turn a blind eye to the situations elsewhere in the country.

"So, what the Master wants us to do is to go to these cities, and observe. I've some official business from the Magistrate to lend weight to my more official requests for information," Thomas said. "But the Master suggested that you come along as well, to search a little more discreetly for information. And I can cover for you in any situations that warrant it." Shawn nodded.

Thomas finished, "And the ultimate goal is not just to learn of anything underhanded, but to take care of it, in Roguish fashion, by spoiling plots and exposing wrong-doing; and ideally in a way that the Magistrate cannot ignore it, thus bringing her attention and influence to bear on other parts of the island."

Shawn nodded again. "When would we leave?" he asked.

Thomas said, "The Master suggested that there was no time to waste, but also that there were no specific events driving this job. So we can go when we are ready... but we should make ready."

"All right," Shawn said. "I will need some excuse for Mama, but I think she'll understand if I say I have some Hero work to do. I won't say that you're involved." Thomas nodded gratefully. "I think she'll be able to get by without me doing any deliveries for the rest of the month..." Shawn trailed off. Was that true? He sighed as he did the mental calculation of the household's finances for this month. He'd have to dip into his savings for next year's Hero-U tuition. Well, the Rogue work was too important. He'd just have to work harder to save up anything he took out of the stash.

Thomas was waiting for him to finish thinking it through. Then he added, "The Master did give us a modest allowance for lodging and food. But I don't think we can afford anything fancy." Shawn snorted and gestured around at the living space in his home. "Not used to anything fancy anyway, right?" Thomas' serious look cracked a little and he smiled. "You know I think it's lovely here," he said. Shawn smiled back and said, "Thanks to you." And the room *was* now adorned with a variety of bunches of dried flowers hanging from the ceiling, all thanks to Thomas' weekly visits.

Thomas flushed slightly and cleared his throat. Then the twinkle returned to his eyes and he said, "You know, we *could* save money by getting only one room at an inn, wherever we stayed." Shawn's eyes widened and a smirk crept over his lips.

"Well, I think that is a very responsible suggestion, Herr Kent," he said. Hadn't Shawn just been fantasizing about what they could get up to with a little privacy? So this trip could be a little business, a little pleasure... As Shawn held Thomas' gaze, Thomas smiled broadly, now quite red in the cheeks. 

Before he could get too distracted with the idea, Shawn stood and said, "I think I feel even more motivated to begin preparations for our trip, then." Thomas nodded, stood, and after a few more logistical details were sorted (when to leave, how many days to plan to spend on the trip, where to spend the first night), Shawn hesitated for just a moment, but then crossed to kiss Thomas briefly. Thomas put his arms around Shawn and held him tightly, and what began as a brief kiss became suddenly more intense as Thomas playfully slipped his tongue into Shawn's mouth. Shawn couldn't help pulling Thomas close against him, hard. It was difficult to stop. But they managed it, Shawn bade Thomas good afternoon, and went to his room to take the edge off his rising excitement.


	28. Chapter 28

It had been a long journey across the island. Shawn hadn't really thought about how big Sardonia actually was, until he'd had to travel much of the length of it on foot. Thomas had done the numbers, and walking most of the way through the uninhabited parts of the island would save them enough Lyra to extend the trip by several days, or to buy unexpected supplies if needed. Shawn had agreed that the added flexibility was worth it, and certainly he did enough walking in his delivery work that the walking itself wasn't so hard (though the steeper climbs were still a little challenging). But the constant travel for three days started to wear. Especially with camping in between and having to take shifts sleeping, and generally having to be ready to fight off monsters and wild animals and the odd bandit.

Fortunately they were both extremely effective fighters; Shawn was pleased to note that Thomas' skills were still pretty sharp even though he'd taken a desk job. It was also quite a contrast with how Thomas had been at the beginning of their term at Hero-U -- the least capable of their classmates, and extremely unsure of himself. Thomas was quite confident, now, and even better, he had an almost supernatural sense for where to make camp that would be the most defensible.

Shawn was so tired that he didn't even have the energy to think about Thomas sleeping across the fire from him, or wonder what Thomas was thinking when he caught a stray glance out of the corner of his eye.

But now they'd arrived at their first stop, a small town towards the northern end of the island (still a day's journey from the coast, their ultimate destination). Tomorrow they'd take a cart ride the rest of the way; there was a lot more traffic between here and the coast and the cost of that ride was much less than transportation across the entire island would have been. Shawn also remembered that there were ferries that traveled around the outside of the island, but those were even more expensive.

As they entered the common room of the town's inn, and Thomas went to the barkeep to ask about lodging, Shawn sat down gratefully in an overstuffed chair near the fireplace. It felt so good to just be off his feet that he paid little attention to Thomas' dealings. So he didn't see the barkeep (also the innkeep) glance over at him in a kindly fashion, or hear anything Thomas said to her.

The next thing he knew, Thomas was gently tugging on his sleeve to wake him. "Shawn, come on, let's go to the room -- you can sleep there. And I want a bath."

Shawn started awake, trying to work out how long he'd been out, but was reassured to see from the clock on the wall that it had only been a few minutes. He nodded blearily, and followed the innkeep and Thomas up the stairs, two flights, to the top floor.

"This is your room," she said to Thomas, and pointed at a room at the end of the hall. "And you're the only ones up here, tonight, so you can lock the door at the top of the stairs, and have the bath room all to yourself, too." Thomas smiled at her, thanked her genteelly, and she went downstairs.

Shawn looked at Thomas in surprise. "After all that, you spent more money on a private bathroom?" 

Thomas chuckled fetchingly. "No, I didn't. You did some of the work, looking worn out of your own skin, falling asleep in the chair; I just said to her that we'd come all the way from Caligari, and wondered what the bathing options were. Just a couple of earnest young men, seeking work up on the coast. Which is true enough." Shawn laughed, and said, "Technically, yes..."

Thomas finished, "Anyway, she said, 'well, normally I wouldn't do this, but you can have the upper floor to yourself.' And here we are." His imitation of the innkeeper was vaguely familiar and a little funny, so Shawn was chuckling as Thomas opened the door to the room that was theirs. Shawn stopped in shock: the room was huge, with an extremely large bed and a little couch off to the side.

Shawn flushed as he walked into the room, thinking about the luxury of the huge bed, and about Thomas, and also about how he and Joel had crammed themselves into his bed at Hero-U (which was smaller than this one!) and also into his even smaller bed alcove at home during Joel's visit. And he got to thinking about what you could do with a huge bed... He turned back to Thomas and asked, a little surprised, "Just what did you tell her about... us?"

Thomas laughed, stepping in behind Shawn and shutting the door. "Nothing in particular. I said something that implied that I was the higher-born of the two of us, and wouldn't mind a nice bed, and to make sure there was someplace you could sleep too."

Shawn smirked and protested, "Well, though I know that's probably actually true, you know I'm technically the King of Thieves in Sardonia. Shouldn't *I* be the one who gets the big bed?"

Thomas stepped close to Shawn and ran a gloved hand up the edge of Shawn's vest, pulling Shawn against him. Shawn reflexively put his arms around Thomas, who then said, "Well, she doesn't need to know that. And... you know I'll share anything I have with you."

Shawn shivered at the way Thomas said it, and the way he was looking at Shawn. Then Thomas looked down, laughed shortly, and said, "You, however, stink. Go take a bath. I have some notes to make about tomorrow."

Shawn made vague protesting noises but actually really gratefully went to run the bath, adding some of the nice soap and bath salts that were sitting by the side of the tub. When he finally eased into the extremely warm water, the feeling of release as his muscles relaxed almost all at once was fantastic.


	29. Chapter 29

Shawn didn't know how long he'd laid there in the tub, but startled back to alertness as he heard the door creak. Thomas slipped into the room, jacket, gloves, shoes, and fake moustache already removed, but still wearing his white shirt and dark pants. Shawn felt suddenly self-conscious; though Thomas had seen him mostly undressed, Shawn hadn't been totally naked around him yet. The soap suds in the bath gave him a little privacy, but this was unexpected.

Thomas looked at him a little inscrutably and said, "Do you mind changing out the water?" Shawn started to say, "I'm not done with it, yet," but before he could, Thomas added, "I just thought we could help each other get the... hard to reach places." Shawn's heart missed a beat.

He was again surprised at Thomas' forwardness, but... really, Thomas had only gotten more confident in the last several months. And Shawn certainly knew it was all right to do as Thomas specifically asked. He wouldn't ask if it weren't okay.

So Shawn drained the tub most of the way, began to shiver, and then set the tap running again to re-fill it and added some more soap and bath salts. Then he rested his arms on the edge of the tub and let the water run down his back, watching as Thomas unbuttoned his shirt.

Thomas took his time, but eventually finished with the buttons down the front and at the wrists, and then shrugged himself out of the shirt.

Shawn hadn't been sure what he'd see, but it made sense that Thomas wore what looked like a corset under his shirt. It was laced in the back, and had hooks in the front, and went up higher than a corset usually did; and didn't have any of the little frills he was used to seeing at the edges or on the front. Shawn realized that the shirts Thomas wore were thick enough that you wouldn't be able to see it through them; and of course, with a jacket over, you had no idea that it was there at all.

As Thomas sighed a little, contemplating Shawn sitting there, clearly thinking about how to approach this with him, Shawn thought to himself that Thomas, when dressed for work, did a great job of looking attractive, trim, and professional, without looking feminine at all. It would have been easy, with a little less care, to look shapeless. While he had always had in the back of his mind that Thomas must pay a lot of attention to his appearance, as part of his disguise, Shawn now had a new appreciation for these efforts.

Thomas sighed again and stepped close to the tub. He said to Shawn, "Would you like to help? Normally I do this myself, but I'll admit that after a long few days, it seems nice for someone else to do it," and he pointed at the hooks in the front. Shawn nodded, and Thomas knelt down on the step next to the tub while Shawn scooched partway out of the water to get purchase with his fingers on the delicate hooks. He was lucky his hands were dry from being out of the tub, and he hadn't been in long enough for them to get pruny. And, he thought slyly, Rogue skills come in handy here, too.

Thomas was watching him, he realized, as he worked away at the corset. He was nervous to look up and see Thomas' expression; Shawn found himself both excited and vaguely worried as to whether he was doing this right and what Thomas was thinking. He'd never been this nervous when undressing someone before. And as he got a couple of inches down, the enormity of the situation hit him. Thomas trusted him enough to take off all the layers of disguise. Shawn, undoing these hooks, was revealing parts of Thomas that he hadn't shown anyone in Sardonia, and no one anywhere had seen for at least a year. He wasn't sure exactly what he was afraid of, but the feelings that were coming up were intense, and he paused and looked up at Thomas furtively.

Thomas' expression had no fear in it at all. He looked very serious, but otherwise fine. He smiled slightly at Shawn and said, "It's okay. We can do it together." He gently put Shawn's hands down at the bottom and then started working from the top himself.

At some point, Shawn laughed nervously and said, "There are just so many hooks..." and Thomas chuckled, too. He said, "I know. I have just got used to it, I guess, but... yes." The little bit of humor helped, and it was a good thing, too, because then all the hooks were undone.

Thomas pulled the corset away, carefully folded it, and set it aside on a chair. Shawn thought Thomas looked really good, unencumbered and topless, but then he'd always liked pretty much anyone naked. That equal-opportunity attitude really served him here, he thought. When Thomas had asked him, back then, if Shawn was disappointed to learn that Thomas was biologically female, Shawn had said it didn't matter to him at all, and that was true.

Then Thomas stood, undid the fastening on his pants, and tugged the rest of his clothes off. He folded these just as carefully and laid them on top of the corset. Then he came back to the tub and stepped into it, gingerly, at the other end from Shawn.

Fortunately Shawn hadn't overfilled the tub, and equally fortunately, the tub was big enough for both of them. Thomas carefully slid his feet down, past Shawn's right knee, and tucked them around his hip. Shawn did the same, and just naturally found himself resting his right hand on Thomas' legs at about calf level. He noticed as he had the last time that Thomas' limbs were a little more slender than he'd expected. Touching Thomas' skin sent shivers down Shawn's spine, and he realized that this was in a way more intimate than anything he'd done with Joel, or any partner before that. Shawn felt more turned on than he could remember ever having felt before. And they hadn't even done anything yet.

But the water felt good, and Thomas at first seemed content just to sit in the water and relax. The soap was sudsy enough that all Shawn could really see was Thomas' head, leaned back on the side of the tub. Though he'd removed the fake moustache, the grime from their trip had somehow got combined with the adhesive and it left the faint impression of stubble. In a way, it was easy to forget the female body he'd just seen for the first time, which was now hidden under the water.

Or... maybe hidden wasn't the right word. Thomas wasn't hiding from him at all, now. Shawn wanted to know just how Thomas felt about this, now that they were here, totally bared to each other (less a few soap suds). It had taken a long time to get to this point. But the moment seemed so serene, the water so relaxing... maybe it could wait a bit. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the tub, too.

After what felt like quite a while, Shawn opened his eyes to see Thomas looking at him pensively. "A Lyra for your thoughts?" Shawn asked.

Thomas smiled. Then he got serious again and asked, "Are you... still all right with this?"

Shawn sat up a little in the tub. He struggled for a moment, trying to figure out how to refer to what he was pretty sure Thomas meant, and eventually said, "You mean... your body?" Thomas nodded.

Shawn nodded eagerly. "Yes, more than all right. You look great. You... feel great, too," he said, running a hand up Thomas' leg from ankle to as far as he could reach, mid-thigh.

Thomas shivered with pleasure. So did Shawn, but he managed to keep it under wraps.

Shawn thought maybe Thomas had shown him the right way to ask what he wanted to ask. "Are *you* all right with it?" Thomas looked at him, maybe a little confused for a moment by the question. Shawn tried awkwardly to elaborate, "I mean, does it bother you, to have... to be..." He realized it was hard to put to words, because it wasn't that Thomas wasn't Thomas, or wasn't male, but then he was also clearly female... no one had ever given Shawn the words for this before. He was trying to find them, but failing.

Fortunately understanding lit in Thomas' eyes, and he said, "I don't mind having this body. In fact, I like it, sometimes." He flushed a little, and Shawn thought he could guess what times those might be. But Thomas went on, "I just don't like what... displaying this body means for what the world expects of me."

Shawn nodded. This made sense to him. Then he laughed. "You definitely spared yourself Sosi making a pass at you." Thomas laughed too, and then they were both laughing, for quite a few minutes, at the thought. Sosi had tried to make a move on Esme in the first week of the term, and it... hadn't gone well for him. He'd known not to try any such thing on Katie, but... that was only because Katie was extremely fierce, and made no bones about it. Shawn thought that Thomas, back when he was presenting himself to the world as female, was probably not that fierce. Or at least, that was hard to imagine.

Then Shawn thought about the efforts it took for Thomas not to display his body to the world. He realized that maybe he’d been thinking about it wrong: it wasn’t a disguise, exactly, because how Thomas presented himself was just how he wanted to be – it was who he really was. But what was under the clothes was also a part of who he was, and getting to see this part of him gave Shawn the feeling that he was experiencing the whole of Thomas. Learning that Thomas liked his own body made that feeling all the stronger... Shawn wanted to appreciate all the parts of Thomas that Thomas wanted appreciated. 

But... it was still a lot of work, for Thomas to appear how he wanted to appear to everyone all the time. Shawn was curious about that, and Thomas seemed to be in a mood to share – so Shawn felt a little more confident that it was okay to ask. He said, "Is it... is it uncomfortable, to wear that...corset?" he trailed off as he said the last word, because when it came out of his mouth, it sounded wrong. He'd been thinking of it as a corset, but it didn't look like any corset he'd seen before.

Thomas reached down in the water and squeezed Shawn's left calf reassuringly. Shawn tried to ignore again the thrill that Thomas' touch sent racing across his senses, so he could listen to Thomas' answer. Thomas said, "It's called a binder. I made it myself -- there were seamstresses who gave me advice on it, back home, before I left. And no, it's not really uncomfortable. In fact... I prefer it to an actual corset. I always felt so exposed when I was wearing one, and things would bounce around... this is a lot more comfortable, if I don't wear it too tight. And usually I don't have to, and I take it off at night of course."

Shawn nodded. That explained the lengthy absences just before bed on trip here. Thomas went on, idly swirling the water with his free hand, and said speculatively, "Though it *was* more uncomfortable when we were really hiking, on our way here... and I did sweat more than I'm used to. I'll need to wash everything here before we leave for the coast." He smiled and laughed. "So much for the well-groomed agent of the magistrate. They could have smelled me coming a mile away." Shawn chuckled too.

Thomas was apparently feeling unusually talkative: he went on, "And you know, sometimes I looked at how Katie and Esme and the other girls at the school dressed, and I just thought to myself, I'm so glad I don't have to do that." He chuckled softly, then got serious. "And... you know? Even when I was younger, I wanted nothing more than to be like my father. I would try to follow him around when he was home, tried to dress like him... the only way I knew to be a hero was to be like him."

Shawn stroked Thomas' leg as he spoke. Then Shawn said, "But now you've seen that women can be Paladins. Lady Moira at Hero-U certainly looks feminine, and she was wicked with that flaming sword -- fighting the Wraith when I was trying to get Joel back to safety."

Thomas sighed. "Yes, she's amazing. If I'd grown up someplace where I could be like that, maybe I wouldn't be dressing the way I'm dressing now. But... you know what? Skirts are awkward when you're trying to fight. Or sneak. And I actually like these clothes better, really."

Shawn said, "Well, you would look great, either way." He squeezed Thomas' knee. Thomas smiled and said, "Thank you."

They lay there for a little while longer, idly swishing water and stroking nearby body parts. It was very calming. After a while, Thomas shifted and reached for a small towel and dipped it in the tub, washing his face. Getting the adhesive from the fake moustache and goatee off seemed to bother him a little, and he gave up scrubbing after a moment, then pulled his legs in, scooched forward, and dunked his head back to get his hair wet. Shawn watched, fascinated, as Thomas raised his head again, and with his hair back, Shawn imagined what he might look like with longer hair.

He asked, "Was your hair longer, then? Back when you were... Janet." That seemed to be the quickest way to refer to Thomas presenting himself as female.

That seemed to be an okay thing to say; Thomas nodded. "Yes, it was halfway down my back. That's another thing I don't miss having to deal with. I usually pulled it back or braided it to keep it out of my way."

Shawn, watching Thomas bathe, started thinking again about the enormous bed in the next room and what they could do on it. He said softly, moving closer to Thomas in the water, "What was that about... hard-to-reach places?"

Thomas smiled at him, and turned so their torsos were almost in contact, and said, "Well, it's not every day I have a bathing partner." Shawn laughed low in his throat and leaned in to kiss Thomas.

There wasn't much washing in what followed, though water did go various places as they moved against each other, and that probably had a cleansing effect. While Thomas' breasts weren't particularly large, they still felt good in Shawn's hands, and Thomas made wonderful noises when Shawn stroked or squeezed them lightly.

In one moment Shawn must have gotten too enthusiastic, because Thomas drew in a breath with a quick hiss. "Oh! Please don't squeeze that hard. They are a little tender after I've been wearing the binder and hiking all this time."

Shawn said, "Sorry," and kissed the soft skin near the top of the breast he had inadvertently harmed. "You're forgiven," Thomas breathed.

Shawn sat back for a moment, considering something. Then he said, "This is going to sound... a bit odd. But my mother said to me last month, after Joel's visit, 'you're lucky they're both boys -- you won't end up with twice as many mouths to feed'..." Thomas looked faintly alarmed; he already knew that Shawn's mother knew about their relationship, but... Shawn added hastily, "Don't worry, I didn't tell her about your... other identity," and Thomas relaxed. "But... it did make me think about... this," and he pulled Thomas against him in a way that made Thomas sigh and sent a surge of adrenaline through Shawn's blood. "And whether we'd end up with mouths to feed."

Thomas looked at him pragmatically. "I know how to prevent that." Shawn was surprised, and it must have shown, because Thomas added, "It was actually something they taught us in school. Only the... well, only the girls. It's mostly about timing; I know when I'm fertile, and I'm not right now. But there are other concerns, so also..." Thomas leaned over to Shawn's ear and whispered some other details. Which involved some graphic detail which only served to feed Shawn’s desire to do what was described. Thomas finished, "I have the necessary supplies for it, too."

Shawn laughed and leaned in to kiss Thomas, sliding a hand down his side and around a hip, squeezing a buttock and pulling him close. "You are always very prepared, Herr Kent," he said.

Thomas murmured to him, "And a good thing, too, Herr O'Conner... you don't often look before you leap."

Shawn returned, "Oh, I think I'll be taking a pretty good look this time," holding Thomas away for a moment. The soap suds were gone at this point, and he could indeed get a pretty good look at Thomas' naked body; it only served to increase his already extreme arousal. Thomas flushed red in the cheeks and smiled at him, eyes flicking down as he returned the favor, taking in Shawn’s body and the obvious signs of said arousal. Then Shawn said, "Shall we dry off and try this method you've described?"

Thomas looked nervous and eager. He said, "Yes, let's." He reached over and grabbed some towels, and Shawn started the tub draining. Thomas stood out of the water, let it drip off him for a few moments, and as Shawn stood, handed him one of the towels before starting to dry himself off.

Thomas stepped out of the tub and hesitated for a moment by the clothes. "How... how long does it take?" he asked. "Usually, for you, I mean," he added hastily.

Shawn thought that was an odd question, and as Thomas looked to him for an answer, he seemed unable to take his eyes off Shawn as he toweled off his naked body. He had continued to work out, so he knew he looked pretty good; Thomas must have thought so, too. Thomas was much more slender than he was... wiry, quick, strong, and still good in a fight, and with his body fully revealed, quite attractive. In a way, Shawn thought, Thomas was almost more attractive because Shawn associated both feminine and masculine traits with him.

Shawn stepped close to Thomas and said, voice low and suggestive, "As long as you want it to take." Thomas reddened, cleared his throat, and then said lamely, "...I was trying to figure if I should start my clothing soaking." What a prosaic thought to have, Shawn thought to himself. But, again, that was Thomas, planning ahead.

What Shawn actually said was, "Why don't we come back to that later?" Thomas nodded, again seeming equal parts nervous and eager.

This mixture continued even when they made their way to the bed, and Shawn started to kiss Thomas. Eventually Shawn's carefully tuned instincts about Thomas warned him that he wasn't sure if Thomas was fully all right with the situation. So he stopped and said, "Is this okay?"

Thomas looked at him for a minute. Then he looked away. "I... I've never done this before. My mother felt strongly that you shouldn't... make love with anyone, unless you were married to them. She never let me get close enough to anyone for me to even think of trying it. And she hadn't managed to get me married off, yet, when my father died." He sounded a little bitter, but a little victorious, at the end of that statement.

Shawn wasn't surprised to hear this, given what he knew about Thomas. And though he was extremely turned on, his sense of not pushing Thomas was fully intact. He reached over and drew Thomas close, just holding him. "It's all right, we don't have to do this now. I think I'll need to have some time alone in the bathroom, if that's the case, but... don't push yourself."

Thomas leaned away from him a little to look him in the eyes. "No, I want to. Believe me, I want to." Apparently emboldened by the statement, Thomas reached down to stroke Shawn's leg, and then the parts of him that desperately wanted to continue. Shawn couldn't help letting out a little moan. Thomas smiled a little. "I'm just a bit nervous about it, that's all."

Shawn got a grip on himself mentally and said, "You know, I haven't done... exactly this, before, either." Thomas looked shocked. "What?" Shawn protested. Why did everyone seem to think he'd been around the block so much? Just because he flirted with everyone... "I've been intimate with girls before, but not this much. I've done more intimate things with Joel, but that's ... really different." For a lot of reasons, he realized. Not just the anatomy, but... given the emotional weight, the degree of trust, and how long it had taken to build that trust with Thomas... this felt completely different.

Thomas looked a little more nervous again. Shawn usually tried not to tell Thomas too much about what he did with Joel or how he felt about him, but this seemed important. Shawn said, "Really, it's... just very different. But I do know what to do, and I'll be careful. We just take it really slow, and you tell me what feels good and tell me to stop if it doesn't." Thomas swallowed, smiled a little tentatively, and said, "All right."

And so they did: take it slowly. Shawn started with gentle touches in key places, and Thomas seemed to like that. They did that for a while, and in the end, it was Thomas who reached down and put things where they needed to go (including the protection as described earlier in the evening), and Thomas who gasped with pleasure, and Thomas who pulled Shawn deep inside him. Shawn felt utterly helpless to the waves of feeling and physical sensation that swept over him; all he could do was follow what his body wanted, and what it seemed to him that Thomas wanted, and wrap his arms around Thomas and hold him as tightly as he could -- and Thomas did the same in turn. And when it was over, that was the only thing he could think to do: keep holding Thomas close, filled with the feeling that he wanted nothing in the world more than to protect him, though he knew intellectually that Thomas didn't really need protecting.

And this was totally different than how it was with Joel. Shawn felt the same sense of mutual trust and appreciation; love and support. Shawn certainly felt protective of Joel. And with Joel it might even be, strictly speaking, more pleasurable (especially with the new toys Joel had brought last time), more fun, more playful. Not something Shawn would give up in a million years, if he could avoid it. But this intimacy with Thomas satisfied some part of him he hadn't known he had. He thanked all that was holy in the world for the fact that he had these two people in his life that he could share this kind of intimacy with, in such different ways. Who brought out such different parts of him.

After a while, Thomas kissed Shawn’s chin, then his lips, lightly, and extracted himself from the bed, and went to wash up. By the time Shawn had managed to join him in the bathroom, Thomas had already had his clothes soaking and was now wringing them out, and after hanging them up to dry near the heating element at the corner of the room, he came and wordlessly hugged Shawn, long, tight, and with his typical kind of seriousness. Shawn just stayed like that, as long as Thomas wanted.

Then Thomas gave him a squeeze and went back to the bedroom. Shawn sighed, cleaned up, got ready for bed, and when he rejoined Thomas, Thomas was already partly asleep. Shawn slid into the bed, and Thomas sleepily wrapped himself around him. Shawn tried to stay awake, stroking Thomas' hair, trying to preserve every moment of this, but eventually succumbed and drifted off himself. There were plenty of reasons to sleep soundly.


	30. Chapter 30

A month later, it was finally time for Hero-U’s next term to start – a good excuse for a Disbarred Bards mini-reunion.

“You did *not*! You liar!” Katie exclaimed, punching Shawn in the arm.

Shawn laughed and held his hands up in surrender, but said, “I really did. I was just behind the tapestry when the bribe was being exchanged, and I grabbed it when it was out on the table, when no one was looking.”

Joel chuckled at him. “I have seen you do that sort of quick snatch before. But, I do believe, however, that right now, you are bluffing. I see your bet and raise you four Lyra.” Joel slid a few coins over into the pot with the practiced flick of the hand of a card shark. Which he was.

Shawn raised an eyebrow at Joel and smirked. “That’s a thing you could do,” he said, nonchalantly. “I’ll happily see that bet.” And he added his own coins to the pot. Shawn knew Joel’s tells when he was holding really excellent cards, and he could tell from the way Joel was sliding his fingers along the edges of the cards that he had a good hand, but not a spectacular one. Last year I wouldn’t have known that, Shawn thought to himself with satisfaction. Shawn was holding a Poobah, but he was careful to make the same tells as he had in the previous round when all he’d had was a measley Mimi and he *had* been bluffing.

Katie looked across the table. “Thomas? Are you still in?” Thomas looked back at her, seriously. Shawn still had trouble reading him when they played Poobah. Thomas always wore his cautious face when playing cards, and Shawn had learned that it was because he was genuinely concentrating on counting the cards and calculating probabilities in his head. And Thomas often simply folded when he didn’t have much in his hand to count on. And though he could in theory still stay in – discard and draw a new hand to see if he could improve his lot – Shawn could tell that the bets were getting high enough to trigger Thomas to fold anyway.

Which he did. “Fold,” he told Katie. Katie grinned at him; she’d folded early on in the round. She seemed to be taking the strategy tonight of staying out of it if she didn’t have anything good; Shawn and Joel had been egging each other on with ever-higher bets all evening. “Gentlemen, discard and draw, or hold’em?” she asked them.

Shawn kept his eyes on Joel’s, as Joel said, “Hold’em.” No waver in that smirk. Shawn grinned back at him and said to Katie, “Hold’em.”

Katie shrugged at the two of them and said, “All right, any additional bets?”

Shawn leaned forward and said, “I could use some more funds from the Bank of Kyro. I raise...” he counted out the coins one by one, “Another four Lyra.”

Now Shawn could feel that Joel couldn’t resist calling him, supposed bluff or not. This was their dance, their tease... if they’d been alone, it would very certainly have gotten physical at this point. “I call,” Joel said, adding his additional four Lyra to the pot. Unsaid: I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.

Katie laughed at the both them and said, “Showdown, then. Lay them out!”

Joel revealed his hand first: a Good Fizbin. As Shawn suspected, not as good as his own hand, but worth holding onto, and would definitely have beat the pants off his Mimi from last round. Which Joel had done – he’d won the last round by calling Shawn’s bluff.

Shawn said archly, “Not bad. But...” he laid his cards out with a little flourish. “Not quite good enough.”

“Ah...” Joel sighed, shaking his head, still smirking at Shawn. “Well done, Herr O’Conner.”

Shawn chuckled and pulled the pile of coins towards him, starting to stack them in neat piles for easier betting in the next round. Katie passed the cards to Joel to deal the next round.

As Joel shuffled and Shawn stacked, Thomas said, “It really was useful, though, for Shawn to have grabbed the bribe when he did. It made it easier to put pressure on the mayor to admit the whole thing to the Magistrate before it was revealed publicly. Then she couldn’t turn a blind eye to what was going on, anymore. If it had become public knowledge it would have reflected badly on her as well.”

Shawn nodded. Katie said, “The Master must have been happy with you two.” Thomas nodded. “Yes, it was exactly as he’d hoped.” There was a pause. Shawn finished counting and stacking his coins, and said to Katie, “Did the Master ever ask you to do anything Rogueish?”

Katie sat back, glancing around the room and listening; Shawn heard a variety of background noises, but she seemed to be listening for particular things. They were sitting in a private room with a good-sized bed and a little table they could play cards at; Katie was letting Joel stay in it for the few nights before the Hero-U term started, at a discounted rate. Shawn trusted that Katie would know how secure the room was, for discussing Rogue business, at least.

Apparently satisfied with her survey, Katie nodded and said, “He did. Mostly the Master left me to my own devices, which was good because it took me a while to set this place up.” She paused for a minute, and Shawn was thinking of all she’d had to do: buy it from her father, change some of the employees out who objected to the new ownership, get some new suppliers... she’d told him about a lot of it over dinner one night. Shawn had admired Katie from the start, but hearing all of this only served to magnify his admiration. She was eminently suited to running the business, too – and she did it with humor and alacrity. And that was even before you included the fact that she went out of her way to help out old sailors, giving them cheaper room and board, even employing some of them. And she was still just as adept at beating Shawn at darts, after dinner.

Katie went on: “Later in the summer, though, the Master told me there was someone coming in to town who needed watching, and maybe even a little interrogation, and he was fairly certain there was a good chance this person would try to stay here.”

Thomas asked, wide-eyed, “Did they?” Katie nodded again. She said, “Yes. And I was able to get the information the Master wanted, after a little wine and food, one night, and I was able to keep an eye on their dealings while they were here. Nothing untoward actually happened during those days, but the Master told me that there was an incident later that he was able to prevent because of what I’d told him.”

“Good job,” Shawn said with feeling. Katie smiled at him and said, “Thanks.”

Joel finished shuffling and dealt the cards for another round, asking for bets. This time Shawn had nothing, just a sad Meh of a hand. He stayed in with minimal investments; Joel raised and he didn’t take the bait. Thomas seemed to be more interested in this hand, and when Shawn discarded the Meh and only got an even worse Wump, and he saw Thomas betting, he folded right away. Thomas must have a pretty good hand. Katie and Joel, though, seemed to be going back and forth between each other, checking and raising, and not noting that Thomas was still in. Shawn having removed himself had left the two of them sparring with each other, distracted... Shawn was betting that Thomas would take this round.

While Katie considered whether to raise Joel a final time, Shawn asked her, “Do you know if Esme will be joining us this year?” Katie had stayed in touch with her roommate.

Katie said, a little distracted, “I don’t think so. She’s been really busy with Aeolus’ family, apparently. But,” and she looked away from the gaming table and her hand and smiled in Shawn’s direction, “I think she’s pretty happy where she is. And she told me the Master had tasks for her as well, though she didn’t say what; it wasn’t a secure channel.” Shawn knew letters could be opened and resealed; he’d done it himself, in fact. So it was good Rogue technique not to write down anything that wasn’t going to travel from known hands to other known (and trusted) hands.

Shawn sighed. “Well, I’ll miss her. But I’m glad she’s happy, and she’s doing Rogue work. And I’ll bet Aeolus is happy as a clam with her around.” The other three laughed and agreed. Shawn had gotten a few letters from Aeolus over the summer, mostly containing song lyrics about Esme. He hadn’t minded it, and when he’d read them off to his mother, she’d said she thought Aeolus was quite talented. And she was right.

Katie finally decided to raise Joel; Joel looked over to Thomas and suddenly seemed to realize that he was still betting, and abruptly folded. Thomas considered for a few moments whether to see or raise, and when he raised Katie another two Lyra, she frowned, calculating again. Shawn chuckled inwardly; Thomas definitely had a good hand.

Shawn said to Joel, “Well, I’m looking forward to meeting the new Disbarred Bards, too. I’m curious who we’ll get to meet this year.” Joel nodded, smiling. Probably thinking of new people to buy the things at his shop; he’d already told Shawn he planned to continue that from the previous year. It had been part of the argument for why he was returning to Hero-U this term. And of course Shawn had had the money to put up for his tuition. Joel swore that he’d pay Shawn back, and in fact, it made tonight’s Poobah pretty meaningless, because really it was just shifting that money around. But it was still fun.

Katie said, “Well, I’m sad not to be able to join you folks, but I have to run things here. I don’t trust anyone else to do it right.” She saw Thomas’ bet. Joel laughed and said, “I’m sure you’re right, Katie. It’s hard to imagine anyone being able to do this as well as you do.”

Katie grinned at him in thanks for the compliment. Then she said to Thomas, “All right, Thomas. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Thomas gave a little smile and revealed his hand: a Grand Poobah, the best hand in the game. Katie’s mouth twisted and she huffed a sigh of irritation, as she laid out a Fizbin. “Damn it. Well, good job, Herr Kent.”

“Thanks, Katie,” Thomas said, and meekly pulled the pile of Lyra towards him.

Shawn said, “I’m also looking forward to what else the Master can teach us. I’m particularly interested in disguises.” Thomas glanced at him quickly, a small enough motion that Shawn thought the other two hadn’t noticed.

Shawn went on, “One problem is that the Thieves’ Guilds are starting to learn who I am. And then they’ve learned, probably from my uncle, that I’m Donal O’Conner’s son. So even though I don’t claim the title of the King of Thieves, they still don’t want to mess with me. Or they do want to mess with me. So I’ve been thinking it would be useful to be able to look like someone else.”

Joel nodded. “Yes, and I’ve noticed that the Master is particularly good at disguises.” Shawn laughed. “Yes, he is. He was in disguise the first time I met him.” Then he thought a moment. “Well, the first time I met him as an adult. Apparently I met him when I was a little kid, but who can remember that?”

Katie nodded. She said, “Yes, the Master was in disguise when he came to see me at the inn. It took me a few minutes to recognize him.” Joel said, “And I’m sure that was only because he wanted you to.” “Yeah,” said Katie.

It was Thomas’s deal; he took the cards and began shuffling them, but before he could deal them out, Katie suddenly looked towards the door. Apparently she’d heard some background noise that the rest of them had dismissed as unimportant but she knew would need her attention.

She grinned at the three of them, stood, and said, “As much as I’m enjoying watching Shawn and Joel exchange money, I’d better get back down there and keep everyone in line.” Joel made a disappointed face, and Shawn said, “Too bad,” grinning back at her. Thomas just nodded and said, “Of course.”

Katie went to the door, and just before she closed it behind her, she said to the three of them, “Have fun, boys, and let me know if you need anything.” She glanced at Shawn with a twinkle in her eye.

Shawn realized with a start that she’d guessed that he was romantically involved with Thomas and Joel. Katie hadn’t initially been the most perceptive member of their class, but she’d gotten a lot more experience in the last year with reading people. And here Shawn had thought that maybe he’d done a better job of keeping it under wraps this time! Though of course it was harder to hide things from fellow Rogues.

As the door shut with a solid click, and Shawn turned back to the table, he saw that Joel had guessed the same thing. Shawn shot him a look, eyebrows raised. Joel shook his head and said to Shawn, “I think we can trust in Katie’s discretion.”

Thomas looked between the two of them, and said, “I’m sure we can, but about what?”

Joel chuckled and patted Thomas’ arm. “She’s guessed that we’re... together.” Thomas flushed bright red. Then he frowned, looking confused.

“Wait... which of us?” Now Shawn laughed out loud. He said, “Well, I think Joel and I are pretty obviously playing cards as a proxy for other activities we’d have been enjoying, if we’d been alone. I’ll admit I didn’t try very hard to hide that.” 

Joel nodded, smirking. And then he said, “But I think she might suspect about you and Shawn, too, Herr Kent.”

Thomas reddened anew. “But how?” Joel chuckled softly. “It’s how you look at him.”

“Oh,” Thomas said. Then he looked Joel in the eyes and said, “But you think she’ll keep it to herself. Of course. She’s a fellow Rogue, and a friend, and why would she want to make things hard for us?”

“Precisely,” Joel nodded, satisfied.

Shawn was impressed at the way Joel could reassure Thomas so quickly. Joel was shrewd, of course, so he could quickly discern what needed to be said to a particular person in order to get what he wanted. And Shawn thought that Joel seemed just to want to reassure Thomas. But maybe there was something else there too? There was just a hint of subterfuge that Shawn could barely detect. What was Joel up to?

Now Joel turned to Shawn and said, “Poobah is less interesting with only three players. Shall we switch to Cribbage?”

Thomas shook his head, less flushed now but still looking on the serious side. He said, “I think that’s better played with two. I can... I can just go home now. I’m somewhat tired anyway, and it will be time to move back to the Castle tomorrow, so...” Shawn caught a little sadness in Thomas’ voice when he’d said “played with two,” and it gave Shawn a corresponding little stab of remorse. With both of them together, here, he couldn’t spend as much time on each of them as he liked... and Thomas had probably been the one getting less attention, because Joel was so forward.

But Joel’s grin deepened. He said, “I know... rules for three.” He said it in such a suggestive way that the innuendo wasn’t lost on Thomas, no matter how naive he could be. “Please, Herr Kent. Stay here with us.” Joel really was laying it on thick, Shawn thought.

Thomas was now quite red in the face again, but Shawn could see Joel’s charm working its magic. Eventually Thomas nodded and said, “All right, I’ll stay.” He sat back down at the table and Joel began to explain the variant of Cribbage that worked for three players.


	31. Chapter 31

The three of them spent at least a half hour getting the hang of three-person Cribbage. It did actually work reasonably well, Shawn thought. Joel, at one point, went and got a bottle of wine from his things, and three wine glasses. Shawn glanced at him in surprise, and the sly look told him Joel had planned for this.

As he set the glasses on the table, Joel said, “I know Katie prefers ale anyway, and I wanted to share this with both of you, in celebration of our coming back to work together again.” Again, Shawn couldn’t help but feel that this was all Joel making statements about the relationships between the three of them in symbolic form: card games, wine shared... Shawn still wasn’t quite sure what the objective was. But he was curious as to where Joel was going with all this. 

Thomas looked as if he wanted to protest about the wine, and Shawn worried a little bit that Joel was pushing him. But that was for Thomas, to stand up for himself, Shawn thought to himself, and Thomas seemed to be deciding to go with the flow here. When Joel poured some wine in his glass, Thomas told him when to stop, and Joel honored that. Shawn was happy to have a nice full glass, for himself. He planned to be here long enough that he’d be sober enough when it was time to go. If he had to go... he was hoping that maybe he’d get to spend the night with Joel. He’d told Mama the situation, and she said with a grin that she wouldn’t wait up for him.

As the three of them raised their glasses to toast, Thomas was the first to speak: “To the Rogues’ Guild.” Shawn added, “And to the three of us, proud members.” Thomas nodded and was about to touch his glass to Shawn’s, when Joel added softly, “And to the bonds between us.” Now Thomas flushed again, but finished clinking Shawn’s glass while holding his gaze. Joel was looking a little flushed, too, Shawn thought, as he looked Joel in the eye as he clinked his wineglass against Joel’s. Then he watched as Joel offered his glass towards Thomas, and Thomas clinked him back with a slightly determined look.

Then the three of them each drank, and then Joel began to deal out the cards for the next round of Cribbage. Thomas said, after a moment, “Oh, that’s quite good, Joel.” Joel smiled and said, “It is, isn’t it? From Sicilia – last year’s harvest, I believe? The only good thing to come out of Sicilia last year...” Shawn remembered that Sosi was from Sicilia. Thankfully, none of them had heard from Sosi at all, and there was no indication that he’d be returning to Hero-U this term. 

As Joel picked up the bottle to check what year it was made, Thomas took a sip and said thoughtfully, “Cherry, maybe? Or would you call that raspberry?” Joel looked over at him, smiling slyly. “I’d say notes of raspberry and maybe a little clove?” Thomas nodded and said, “Ah! Yes, I think so.” 

Joel put the bottle down and they resumed playing. He said to Thomas, “You have an excellent palate, Thomas. I’d no idea.” Thomas smiled, reorganizing the cards in his hand. He said, “Well, my father often received gifts of such things, so I grew up drinking nice wines and eating fancy food, at least sometimes. He tried not to act like he enjoyed it, because he was always so selfless, and most of the time he gave them away to other people, but...” There was that sparkle of mischievous Thomas that Shawn now knew so well. “He couldn’t refuse a gift, and he didn’t want to waste anything... and when we did get to keep it for ourselves... well, I know he enjoyed it,” Thomas admitted, as his smile widened. Shawn knew Thomas always loved to talk about Kendrick. And Shawn could imagine Thomas’ father behaving in exactly that way.

Joel chuckled. “The little vanities even Paladins can’t avoid.” They played in companionable silence for a while longer, until Shawn was the one finding himself yawning.

“I think I’d better head home,” Shawn said. Joel looked over at him, and Shawn’s sense of Joel’s scheming intensified. Joel said to him, “Surely you would be willing to stay the night. Katie hasn’t spent *quite* enough resources warming the rooms, wouldn’t you say? A little company could easily make the difference in one’s comfort...”

Shawn smirked at him. “I’d never say anything against our hostess. But if you’re inviting me...”

Joel blew a little raspberry at him. “Pfft. You know you have a standing invitation.” Shawn chuckled and said, “Well, I did tell Mama I might be out late, and not to wait up.” 

“Excellent,” Joel said, with satisfaction.

Thomas stood, a little stiffly. He said, “Then now is a good time for me to head home.”

Joel looked up at him and said, surprisingly seriously, “Thomas. You have as much right and reason to be here as I do, or Shawn.”

Thomas started to protest, but Joel stood, too, now. He looked Thomas in the eye and said, “You are a friend of Katie’s, a fellow Rogue. You are as much Shawn’s partner as I am. And you are my friend, and I would like you to stay.”

Thomas was silent for a moment. Shawn watched as Thomas realized the truth of everything Joel was saying. And yet, he still wanted to leave. Thomas said, “But... if you and Shawn would like to be... intimate, I don’t want to get in the way.”

Shawn met Joel’s eyes, saw the serious look still there. Shawn realized that Joel thought it was more important to sort through this dynamic between the three of them, than to be sexually satisfied. Shawn nodded at him, smiling acknowledgment. Shawn said to Thomas, “I agree with Joel. I think you should stay. We don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

Thomas looked at him, and nodded, smiling tentatively and apparently taking strength from Shawn’s assurance and invitation. Shawn reached over from where he was seated to put a hand on Thomas’ arm. Then Thomas sat at the table again and picked up his wineglass and looked at it thoughtfully. Then he held it out to Joel and said, “Well, if I’m staying, then I’ll have a little more wine.” Joel smiled and nodded genteelly to Thomas, reaching for the bottle, pouring a little more wine in Thomas’ glass, and then sitting down at the table with the two of them.

Thomas looked pensively into the glass as he sipped. He said, at length, “I didn’t bring anything I could sleep in.” Joel’s look got serious again; now what was he thinking, Shawn wondered?

Joel said, “You can borrow some of my pyjamas. We aren’t so different in height and girth.” Thomas nodded at first, but then Shawn saw a look of panic spark in Thomas’ eyes as he thought through what might happen. Joel’s look turned knowing: Shawn realized that Joel had indeed planned all this out – had expected these reactions from Thomas.

Thomas said, “The bed isn’t *so* big... I... I imagine we’ll all be pressed close to each other, to sleep...”

Now Joel was deadly serious. He cleared his throat, looked away for a moment, and then met Thomas’ eyes. He said softly, “I... I know about your other identity.”

Now Thomas’ eyes grew round with shock. Shawn’s, too. Of course, Joel was a person who prided himself on knowing things, but... Shawn saw Thomas’ eyes flick back to him briefly, probably wondering if Shawn had betrayed his trust, but Shawn shook his head vehemently.

Joel elaborated: “I... noticed some things, last year. And I looked into it. And I found that Kendrick Thompson was listed as your father by the school, of course, and ...I also found that he had no son named Thomas. But when I went looking, I had also found that he *did* have a child. I simply put these things together and... well.”

Thomas now looked deflated. Shawn said, “Thomas, remember that this is Joel’s business... he’s very good at finding things out. This doesn’t mean that everyone knows.” Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything, but Shawn was worried about how Thomas was feeling.

Thomas nodded numbly. Then he looked at Joel with eyes full of the fear of a cornered animal. “Joel... you won’t...” Thomas must be thinking of how ridiculous the request was: ask a con man, a fence, a dealer of information, not to share this with anyone?

But Joel was a Rogue, too. And a partner of Shawn’s. He leaned across the table, put his hands on Thomas’ gloved ones, and said, “I swear to you that I will tell no one. A year ago, I would have used this to my advantage in some way, even if it were only to make money on gossip. But now...” Joel took a deep breath, looking sideways at Shawn, grinning hopelessly at him for a moment, before turning back to Thomas, deadly serious again.

“Now... now I will swear to you on my life, and on the life of the one who saved it, that I will tell no one.” Thomas nodded at Joel gravely. That was about as deep an oath as it was possible for Joel to make... or anyone, really. Thomas squeezed Joel’s hands and said, “I believe you. Thank you.” Joel squeezed Thomas’ hands back. And then he said, “Shall we all get a little more comfortable then, since we’re all staying?”

Thomas actually giggled a little. “Yes,” he said. He added, “You always have such nice clothes.” Joel laughed and went to the closet and started picking through things. He said, “For you, Herr Kent, only the best.”

Shawn watched as his partners looked through Joel’s closet. Then Thomas went to change in the bathroom while Joel simply changed there in front of him. Shawn did find it hard not to let himself get aroused at the sight of Joel mostly undressed, but he liked where Joel was going with this. It was one thing to alternate between them when Joel was away; quite another situation when he was nearby, and so was Thomas. If there was a way to arrange it so they could be together, all three of them, comfortably... then they all stood to benefit.

So after Joel finished changing, Shawn crossed to him and took him in his arms and kissed him softly. “That was well done, Herr Kyro,” he said quietly, appreciatively. Joel smiled slyly and said, “It’s selfish, of course. And... well, it’s hard not to like Thomas and want happiness for him as well.” Shawn gave Joel a squeeze, and then because he hadn’t brought anything to sleep in, he stripped down to his underwear and headed to the bed. He figured he’d be sleeping in between them, no matter how it worked out, so he might as well slide into the middle right now.

Thomas emerged from the bathroom more quickly than Shawn expected; usually it took him longer to remove the binder. But he looked fantastic in a pair of Joel’s silk pyjamas, and as he slid into the bed next to Shawn, he could tell that Thomas had in fact removed the binder and was only wearing underwear under the pyjamas. He had a second flash of arousal, again admiring how Thomas had both masculine and feminine traits, but he controlled that too. He did point at Thomas’ mouth, though.

Thomas smiled slyly and removed the fake moustache and goatee, and did as he often did: put them on the bedpost. Joel laughed heartily and climbed in on the other side of the bed. He said, “It does look silly on there. You look better without it, Thomas, but I can see why you wear it; speaking of disguises.” Thomas smiled a little sheepishly at Joel.

There was barely enough room for the three of them, side-by-side. Shawn turned on his side, spooning Joel, and Thomas did the same, spooning Shawn. Thomas was a little taller than Joel and could more easily curl himself around Shawn; and Shawn still felt protective of Joel, though his nightmares had ceased. Shawn wrapped his arms around Joel, who settled in with a sigh and said, “Sweet dreams to you both.” 

“And you,” Thomas murmured from Shawn’s other side, sliding an arm around Shawn and settling it on Joel’s side. Shawn thought he felt Joel reach up and squeeze Thomas’ hand, and then it seemed like he started to drift off almost immediately. Shawn realized that Joel had been working quite hard this evening to get to this moment; and having achieved it, must be extremely tired. Soon his breath assumed the rhythm of sleep.

Shawn turned his head back a little and murmured, “Is this okay, Thomas?” He knew Joel’s charm could get one carried away, and though Thomas had had some time to consider and respond, it had all moved pretty quickly.

But Thomas leaned in close and kissed Shawn’s ear, then his neck. He said, softly so as not to wake Joel, “Yes, it’s fine. I think it will get a little warm, by the end of the night, and it *is* a little cramped, but... there’s nowhere I’d rather be. I’m glad he wanted me here.”

“Me, too,” said Shawn. “And I’m glad you decided to stay.” Thomas kissed him again and murmured, “Good night.” 

Shawn whispered back, “Good night.” Then Thomas’ breathing slowed and deepened and Shawn lay there awake. He was so full of feelings and thoughts that it took his mind a while to settle down. So much had happened this year... he was looking forward to going back to Hero-U tomorrow. To learning more, to meeting new prospective Rogues and showing them how to be a Hero. To seeing Chef Ifetaya and Riki and the other instructors, in addition to Master von Urwald. And to keep looking for opportunities for doing Good, along with his fellow Rogues. 

Mama had said she was going to miss him while he was gone at school again. For the first time, Shawn felt the same: he’d miss her too. He’d told her he’d come visit, since this time he wouldn’t be confined to the school. She’d nodded, smiled, touched his cheek, and told him she was so proud of him. He’d felt an echo of his father’s ghost saying the same thing. He’d shed a few happy tears, thrown his arms around her and thanked her for how hard she’d worked to make ends meet, or mostly meet, since his father had died. Told her that he knew what she’d given up, and what his father had given up, for a sense of ethics that he now shared. She’d given him a squeeze, and then held him away from her, and with a twinkle in her eye, said that ‘his fellas’ were waiting for him, and he should get going.

And it had been a lovely evening with Katie and Joel and Thomas. At the beginning of the evening, he hadn’t had any idea how the evening would end. And this was better than he could have imagined. As he lay there, playing it all back in his mind, finally he started to feel himself grow sleepy.

Shawn O’Conner lay in bed, waiting for night to fall fully. Rogues did their best work when they were well rested, and when they had companions to rely on. And these two, his companions... they were the best sign Shawn could think of that he’d redeemed himself for wanting to be a Thief, a year ago. Maybe that he’d redeemed his father’s years as a Thief, too. And they were proof to him that he’d succeeded in being a Hero – even if he was a Hero of a different sort than one usually thought of. And he was proud of that.

He drifted off to sleep, dreaming of opportunities for glory, even if it was behind-the-scenes and Rogueish. And soon the only sounds in the room were the little noises the three of them made in their sleep; and the sounds of the inn down below. New quests awaited them tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> The only thing not super consistent between this piece and the actual game is the passage of time. The game takes place over 50 days, and that just seemed too short a time to develop the relationships I wanted to depict, so I just imagined that the school term was more like 100 days (like a typical university semester in the U.S.). There are a few bits and pieces where I took liberties with the timing, especially right at the end of the game, as well.
> 
> Also, in the game, it could be interpreted that Thomas really does identify female and is only in disguise out of necessity. I chose to instead interpret his situation that he really does prefer to present male, behave as male, be treated as male, and thinks of himself that way. I didn't imagine that he experiences body dysphoria, as I know some trans folks do, but otherwise I think it still fits in the game's story for him to genuinely prefer to be taken as male. I also used the 'genderfluid' tag for him because he is comfortable enough in private with Shawn to display his body as female and interact sexually in that way. I like to think of genderfluid as "choosing in what contexts to take on what roles," and I think that's what Thomas is doing here.


End file.
